


The Teikou Report

by SapphireMoons



Series: The Teikou Report [1]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blood and Torture, Blood and Violence, Canon Compliant, Child Neglect, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Everyone Else Trying to Help, GOM is Not Okay, Gen, Human Experimentation, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Torture, Kuroko Lies in Teikou Arc, Mental Health Issues, Nijimura Exposes Teikou, Possessive Behavior, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Generation of Miracles, Strong Language, Team Bonding, Teikou Era, Teikou's A+ Teaching, Told Seirin the PG version of Teikou, Until the End of Kuroko's B-Day, Victory is Everything
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-02-17 23:29:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 34
Words: 55,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21601513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SapphireMoons/pseuds/SapphireMoons
Summary: After the Winter Cup, when all seemed fine with the world as the Kiseki no Sedai had learned from their arrogance — the Teikou Report is made public. Revealing the true horrors of the prodigious school and the motto of victory…After Kuroko's B-Day; Before Last Game
Relationships: Generation of Miracles & Kuroko Tetsuya
Series: The Teikou Report [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1766941
Comments: 284
Kudos: 491





	1. Aftermath - Teams

It was a _perfect_ day — his middle school friends were back, happy and smiling ~~as they always should have been~~ , his team and light celebrated his birthday ~~ignorant to what true importance it really held~~ — therefore, it was natural that the universe tilted to compensate. However, considering history, they were never the type to _bend_ to authority, not even to the universe.

**_BREAKING NEWS: TEIKOU MIDDLE SCHOOL EXPOSED… physical punishment… school motto ingrained into students… psychological torture… witnesses come forward with horrifying testimonies… Kiseki no Sedai… mistreatment… photographic evidence seized… medical file fabrication… mere children…_ **

Kagami Taiga stared at the bright screen in frozen awe, brain unable to fully comprehend what the hell his eyes were reading. Not realizing that he had slowly lowered himself on his couch while on his way to the kitchen to fix himself some kind of breakfast, the ace of Seiren stared as the random reporter continued his spinel, taken in small increments. “…board of directors arrested… including several prominent shareholders… full details have not yet been revealed… Kiseki no Sedai appear to have taken brunt…”

 _Kiseki no Sedai._ _Kuroko_ _._ Immediately, the ace tore out his phone, dialing a number he knew by heart. Nothing.

Kagami tried again, stubborn. Nothing. _Goddammit, Kuroko! Pick up!_

About to give it his seventeenth try, the ace was startled to see his phone ringing from an incoming call. _Coach._

Picking up and before he can even get a word in, a cutting voice speaks. “ _Kagami_. Have you heard from Kuroko-kun?”

Kagami informs her of his morning.

“He is not responding to us either.” _Us_. She said. _Ah_ , that’s right. She mentioned that they were supposed to get together at one of the courts. A pool of dread sinks in his stomach as he realizes that the rest of the team must be aware as well and were probably on the other line. That would have made the call _extremely_ unusual — often when it was a team conference, the chance to get a word in was nil with him, Coach, Captain and everyone else but Kuroko and Mitobe-senpai scrambling to get their two cents in.

“Is it true, Coach?” He breaks the silence, eyes staring but unseeing at the screen, hunger long forgotten. “What they are saying of Teikou?”

“I don’t know, Kagami.” She says firmly, the howling of wind in background. “We are coming to you to get a hand on this… _situation_. And where to go from there.”

“I thought Kuroko-kun already told us everything regarding Teikou.” Kiyoshi-senpai said, his voice uncharacteristically solemn. Kagami blinked in realization. That’s right. Kuroko did indulge them in what apparently happened to the Kiseki no Sedai in middle school — but then again, it was _three years_ of ~~abuse and torture~~ that was summarized into one conversation. Fury ran in his blood as he suddenly could no longer stand to look at the news that was making sensations of his shadow’s suffering. Kuroko — hell, _none_ of the fucking Miracles even uttered a single word of this — and even then, conversations of Teikou were rare, even in the PG form that Kuroko had fed them.

“ _Enough_.” She snapped. Kagami had a feeling she was angry as well, whether it be the situation, for her kouhai / team or the situation; he did not know. He just knew that he was angry it _all_. “We will discuss this at your place, Kagami. Expect us in twentyminutes.”

Fists balled up in righteous anger and in part frustration for a shadow that did not tell him yet understanding as to why, he quickly changed out of his sleeping clothes before dressing properly and preparing something for his team when they arrived. It did not take long and it was almost serene in the quiet if not of the oppressive air as they seemed to quickly gather at the table with their coach at the end.

Arms crossed and with a dark glint in her eye, she broke the silence. “This morning, the authorities released a police report that has been in progress for six years — initially in suspicion of corruption in Teikou Middle School for filtering only… _suitable_ students in their halls.” _Malleable, talented and emotionally vulnerable that could keep up their creed._

“The police have not revealed anything more than that the Kiseki no Sedai suffered the worst of it — conditioned through punishments of both psychological and physical. Details have been omitted in consideration for their privacy.” Hyuuga continues, jaw locked in a furious frown. “Though I don’t know if that is a luxury that they have anymore.”

“… _Why_ didn’t Kuroko tell us?” Furihata whispered. “When he told us about Teikou—“

“It could be due to many reasons.” Izuki-senpai sighed, a tired hand running through his hair. “The Kiseki no Sedai may have vowed to never speak of it to anyone outside of their circle. Or Kuroko was not ready to tell us. It could be as simple as he could not too.”

“ _Why not?_ ” Kagami demanded in a soft voice. “Why couldn’t he have just told us?!” Everyone heard the quiet demands that turned into shouts as Kagami’s fist met the table, splintering the wood and blood trickling down his knuckles.

 _Why didn’t you tell_ _me_ _? Why didn’t you tell_ _us_ _that you were suffering?_

* * *

Similar to Seiren, each team that had a Kiseki in their ranks immediately reacted. Kaijo pestered after their ace, uneasy when their texts, often rare and in-between were replied with silence instead of annoyingly long spinels of affection and emoticons. Yosen inquired to any and every food destination known in the area to search for their wayward center since texts of promised food and snacks — even _maibou_ — were ignored. Tou scoured for their power forward at the rooftops and pornography establishments without a hair of his presence, whereabouts truly unknown just like their manager. Shutoku checked any every store that sold the prized black pen of a certain collector’s product that was today’s lucky item from Oha-Asa to no avail, Takao unable to get any semblance of acknowledgment no matter how much he messaged incessantly. Rakuzan were in just as much of a loss, similar to headless chickens as they scrambled to find their captain.

However, they all faced a very prominent problem.

What to do when they _did_ find them?

Comfort them? Ask if they were okay? ~~Of course they weren’t.~~

Eventually, Riko managed to contact all six teams into some kind of semblance of order with the other coaches, pooling together that none of them were aware of where their respective Kiseki were, outside of the police that surrounded each of their homes. They were as silent as the owners, as they managed to gather that each of their Kiseki’s parents were arrested for child neglect and were escorted off the property.

But when questioned of the whereabouts of the dependents, the police were tightlipped and merely stated that they were escorted to a classified location.

Everyone decided to gather the following morning at Seiren for convenience since most of them were already at Tokyo — whether for Kuroko’s birthday or happened to live in the area. Only have their plans derailed in the way that only the Kiseki no Sedai knew through a single mass text to each of them from their respective Kiseki, ignoring the previous bombardments — asking to meet at the Teikou first-string gym, with no explanation or any indication to speak anymore of it as their followed messages were met with the same cold silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thought about how crazy rainbow boys are. Decided to make an explanation as to why.


	2. Preparations - Kiseki no Sedai

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before the report is released, Akashi receives an email from an old friend.  
> And remembers his place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: PTSD, DID, Child Neglect, and Abuse  
> Just to make sure no one gets a stubbed toe here. The last thing I want is for people to be triggered by anything! Please be careful and safe!

**Excerpt from ‘ _The Teikou Report_ ’ — Last Updated 04/01/20XX**

**File 001 - 04**

"Admitted at the request of No. GBPG4's biological ******"

“… subject has graduated as a successful result of the following induced abilities: Emperor Eye, Zone, Ankle-Breaking, Perfect-Rhythmed Plays, Court Vision and Sleight of Ball Handling. Several abilities are dormant until subject ages, yearly examinations are to be implemented after graduation.”

"DID diagnosed — remains untreated under orders; signs of sociopathy - unaddressed."

“…following occasional behaviors have been noted and should be ignored in future examinations: extreme intimidation and condescend, harm to examiner, harm to self if provoked, protective of team members, and intolerance for any form of authority.”

Test Results of **No. GBPG4** — XXX

Physical Response Test — 100 — PASSED

Emotional Response Test — 20 — FAILED

Physical Control Test — 100 — PASSED

Emotional Control Test — 08 — FAILED

Activation of Abilities Test — 87 — PASSED

Suppression of Abilities Test — 96 — PASSED

Akashi felt his blood roar as he read his own file, before doing the same to the rest of the files; alone in the expanse of his large bedroom in the Akashi Tokyo estate. His team was offered lodgings but they had already been given a place to stay courtesy of the holders of their practice game against Yosen, therefore, he was alone on the grounds after the celebration of Kuroko’s birthday. With his father a Teikon alumni and now shareholder, the man knew that Akashi had never allowed the institution to break him fully, his disobedience still evident, even after their _graduation_. ~~You cannot escape Teikou. No one escapes.~~

Therefore, the heir worked in the shadows — if there was anything that Teiko taught her students well, it was that failure was _not_ an option. _Ever_. — Nijimura-senpai was a spy, a transfer student who came a year before the Kiseki to investigate the school from the inside. Of course, his father knew this.

Told his heir to learn carefully how the weak fell. Nijimura-senpai was demoted. Father suddenly ill. Akashi did not have the face to say it. But his senpai understood anyway. Told him to not let the school take anymore from him. To take care of the others for him. That he left all of them in his capable hands.

Akashi _failed_ them.

His red eyes would stare as he was forced to watch Kise endure hours of watching clips of each of their plays to commit to memory of every line of muscle and finger movement, unable to leave until he recalled the number of breaths each of them took. ~~Forty-seven.~~ He would whisper, despite knowing that Kise would not answer correctly.

His hands shook under hidden sleeves of how Murasakibara would grovel for food when he accidentally broke hoops when he was instructed to dunk faster and with less force, deprived until he did it correctly, twenty times. Just one more, Murasakibara. _Just one more._ Even though he knew that the people in white had decided to see how long their purple center could go without food.

Half-moon crescents dug into his palms as Kuroko failed to be invisible enough when he already had low presence, unable to leave the court until the sharp-eyed birds no longer noticed his presence, bait strapped to his back. How those stubborn globes defied even when he was held down to have skin grafts. It made no use to scar their monsters. ~~Presentation is important, Seijuurou, even in your pawns.~~

His lips bitten raw as Midorima would be punished with the breaking of his lucky items in front of him anytime he missed a shot in practice after their grueling team practice. And when they had ran out of those, he was presented before the chopping block. A shower of blood colors them. ~~As it should the world. For condemning them here.~~

The swallowed gasps in his throat when Aomine fell in the middle of his nth suicide or lap to increase his already inhuman speed and agility as instructors shot ‘ _blanks_ ’ for the ace to dodge — he loaded the bullets himself. The frightening gaze of them, when they realize what kind of monster they create when Aomine darts past them with electric blue sparks echoing in his eyes, not fully formed yet. ~~He should let them try. And see how they fare.~~

The lies he had to tell Momoi when she asked why her boys looked like they had looked more traumatized with every practice and class they had without her. Then the day she found out the truth.

But what hurt most of all, was the cold mask he had to wear to show that he did not _care_ when any of them had to suffer, it would only extend the suffering farther if he showed that he cared. ~~Or so he liked to tell himself.~~

And in the end, it mattered not. As he too bore some cracks as cold fingers trailed over his left eye. _It made me truly not care. To protect myself when I should have been protecting everyone else._

A call echoed as Akashi picked up at the first ring. “Hello?”

“Akashi.” Ah, Midorima.

“Shintarou.” Akashi replied, knowing what the use of his former second’s first name implied. “Are the others with you?”

“Yes.” The former vice captain answered after a short silence. “We will arrive in ten minutes. _Akashi_ , you…”

“ _Yes_.” The captain sighed, glancing at the mirror on the vanity table to see a flash of gold gleam from his eye, momentarily heterochromic. “It appears that with this upcoming _announcement_ , it has triggered a number of undesirable memories. Although, unlike the drastic switch during middle school, I am in control, _Midorima_.” ~~For now.~~

“… I see.” The small sigh of relief made a small smile break from the captain’s lips. Reminding him of the kinder moments of Teikou, even in the midst of such suffering.

“I will explain more when we all gather.” Dismissing, Akashi hung up before rising from his desk, issuing for Tanaka to allow his friends in upon arrival with proper meals. Knowing his former team, himself included, they forsook food in exchange for information to get to the bottom of what-the-Oha-Asa-was-going-on — not that he was one to talk. Gathering the files before resolving to get properly dressed, the others arrived in the meantime, looking a bit bleary-eyed considering it was nearly two in the morning. But either way, this meeting needed to occur.

Seated in the main lounge, Momoi typed vigorously into her laptop, several open files scattered around her while Aomine carried in more tabbed and edited books that she had most likely requested. Kuroko organized the needed paperwork by a desk, filing the newly faxed and printed documents into their corresponding file — social security, citizenship, birth certificates, passports, medical documents and lastly, adoption papers. Midorima, in the midst, indicated where Kise was to sign for the needed paperwork. Murasakibara was the last to enter, carrying six different overnight bags for each of them as ordered as Akashi suspected that none of them were going to be going home exactly.

“Good morning, everyone.” Akashi greeted, a weary sigh escaping his lips as he nodded for Tanaka to serve breakfast in the next room. “Drop all your things and leave your work as is. I presume none of you have eaten anything?”

As if on cue, Murasakibara’s stomach growled. _Loudly_.

Chuckling softly, he gestured for them to follow him into the dining room. “As Atsushi wishes, we will have breakfast first, then have our long-awaited discussion.”

One expensive meal later, they all were seated at the lounge once more, Akashi seated beside Midorima, both of them signing their own share of paperwork as Momoi and Kuroko handed them out with maximum efficiency, Aomine and Murasakibara copying the places where Kise signed beforehand, indicating with a pen in hand.

“As promised, I have made the arrangements with my lawyers.” Akashi began, holding up his own set of legal documentation. “My guardian is now Tanaka-san and I am currently in midst of making the statements legalized. A judge and my lawyers will have them done by the following morning.”

“And the rest of us?” Aomine pointed to the pile of papers in front of him, scrawling his signature on the line. “I thought we needed our legal guardians or parents to have these official.” _What parents? What kind of parents stopped fighting for their children?_

“Not when they are jailed for child neglect.” Midorima replied with hooded eyes, startling everyone outside of Kuroko and Akashi. “According the report, the police also know that we were admitted with consent from our parents. Meaning—“ _We were given away._ _Voluntarily_ _._

“—they will be the _first_ to be arrested.” Murasakibara finished, eyes sharper than usual, tongue flicking over the hard candy. “That’s why Sat-chin was gathering all of our important documents.” _Otherwise we would be swept up in the orphanages. Akashi could_ _not_ _allow that. They_ _needed_ _to be in his reach. Safe._ ~~_Stop_.~~

“We will be moving more than just our overnight bags, then. Aren’t we, Akashicchi?” The blonde looked resigned, a hand running through messy hair that somehow remained stylish.

“Most likely, Kise.” Akashi nodded, setting aside his set before scanning over Murasakibara’s with a nod of approval. Removing another document as he handed the set for Momoi to clip into one file, the captain circled an address with a red pen. “Atsushi, your new legal guardian is your oldest sister at this new home in Tokyo. Inform this to your siblings when the police arrive.” ~~They should have been there four years ago.~~

“Hai, Aka-chin.” The giant nodded. “I’m staying at the Yosen dorms~?”

“Your team and Himuro-san will most likely protect you from any unwanted attention.” The others flinched, reminded that their teams would mostly hear about the public release of the report on their middle school as Murasakibara huffed, nodding.

Turning to his former ace, the redhead gave them no time to dwell too much on their teams. ~~Like he was~~. They had other things to be concerned over before opening that can of worms. “Daiki, your new home will here, where you will live with an Iwata Daisuke-san, he is your new guardian and uncle from your father’s side. Momoi will be living with you as your cousin from your mother’s side.”

“Uncle?” Aomine rose a brow. “My old man has no siblings.” _He would have left with him a long time ago if he did._ _Anything_ _to escape them. To escape_ _Teikou_ _._

“He does now.” Akashi replied, not looking up from where he was signing with one hand and holding out the address with another. “He is both your guard and guardian, Nijimura-senpai is the one who chose him — something of your dream to be a police officer.” _He deserved it. Aomine and the rest of his team deserved more than the world. I ~~n a world that deserved to burn.~~_

A red blush dusted over the ganguro’s face as he scowled before taking the address, mumbling his thanks as Momoi gave a small smile, voicing her own sentiments. Nodding with a soft smile of his own, Akashi turned to Midorima. “Here is yours, Shintarou. You and your little sister will be under guardianship of your grandmother as requested.” _Since no one ever listened them for the past four years. No one did and stayed. But each other._

“Thank you.” Midorima replied, taking the slip. “Mizuki will be moving schools?”

“It cannot be helped.” Akashi replied apologetically before the former vice captain waved it aside, stating that it was the will of the gods. _No_ _god_ _was as cruel as humans, after all._

“Kise, like Murasakibara, you will be under the guardianship of your oldest sister.” Nodding the blonde scanned his new address, sighing in relief that it was not unideal for any of his remaining family for himself in regards of school or work, thanking the captain.

“Kuroko.” Akashi addressed, red eyes firm but warm. “Your grandmother will be your guardian and your new address will be here.” _Like me. Your only parent never cared. Only mine was even more deceitful._

Nodding, Kuroko’s blank face twitched. _Tetsuya, you are too perceptive for your own good_. “Thank you, Akashi-kun.”

“You all are my team. No need for ‘thank you’ between all of us.” The point guard of Rakuzan replied. _Not when I have_ _failed_ _you all so badly._

Shaking aside such thoughts he continued, nodding for Momoi to hand each of them the now fully signed papers ready for approval. “Present these files to the police when they arrive for Nijimura-senpai to pass off to a judge. Do not interfere with their official search or arrests — the police under Nijimura-senpai will deliver us to a safe location until the paperwork is sorted and our things from our former homes have been moved. Until then, we will be staying at an undisclosed location with our overnight bags.”

Unseen by the captain in the midst of his words, Kuroko and Midorima exchanged glances — _ah_ , so they noticed. _His control was slipping._

“Akashi-kun.” _Everything_ _needs_ _to be better. Nijimura-senpai was arresting_ ** _them_** _._

“Akashi?” _Midorima is worrying over me outwardly. It must be bad._

The captain ignored their concern, a hand coming to his left temple, grimacing as colors moved too quickly for him to see. Shouts echoed in his skull as he felt the onslaught of a migraine threatened in the edges of his consciousness — _damn, did he push a bit too much?_

 _Without a doubt. Foolish of you._ The other occupant of his mind noted but not exactly scolding. _The others will be worried._

_Of course they will. Reassure them for me?_

His other self paused. _They will not welcome me._

 _Nonsense. They may have been wary of you. But you did spend just as much time with them as I did — they will not dismiss you for me. They know that we are one and the same. We, in the end, suffered_ _together_ _and it is not your fault that Teikou forced your manifestation in my original psyche._

A pause.

 _We_ _must_ _protect them this time._

Akashi smiled softly. _Together_ _, we must protect them. Individually, we may have failed, but together. Perhaps, together — we can protect them_ _this_ _time._

“Young Master?”

Heterochromic eyes fluttered open to see his butler hovering over him, proper and prim with a gloved hand holding fresh servings of tea.

“Tanaka.” Akashi replied, idly noting that he was now in his bedroom and an IV had been attached to his wrist — pumping in electrolytes and needed vitamins. ~~Not drugs.~~

“You had given your guests quite a scare. You had fallen unconscious with a mild fever and a deficiency of proper electrolytes due to stress. The family physician had just left.” The butler reported in a soft voice as he served the tea, Akashi thanking him with a nod, a soft smile breaking out at the sight before his bed, his former team all asleep. “They insisted to stay here. I apologize for being unable to offer them greater hospitality, Young Master.”

“It is fine, Tanaka.” Akashi whispered, eyes taking in the sight of a messy bedhead of Kuroko by his right bedside, head pillowed in his arms with a Tou jacket over his shoulders. Murasakibara took up a couch that was moved closer to the bed, surrounded by mostly unopened snacks and a blanket over his large shoulders, head turned towards him. Aomine grumpily scowled even in sleep as he rested his head against the center’s stomach, seated on the floor as he dozed off, a Shutoku jacket over his lap. Momoi was like Kuroko, in an arm chair that was not previously in his bedroom only on his left with other papers thrown around her — most likely still working when she fell asleep, a Kaijo jacket over her frame. And lastly, Midorima slept with his glasses askew on another couch, a laptop on his lap under a Yosen jacket, as he spotted the golden ingot that was the lucky item for Sagittarius today by his side. “It… has been a while, since I have seen _them_ like this. Even if the circumstances could have been better.”

“In my opinion, Young Master, it is fortunate that you have such great friends.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't resist the bit of fluff at the end. I love GOM bonding, so if you don't, now is the time to leave~ (cuz that's legit the fic, with scattering of team bonding)  
> But don't fret. The angst is coming :D


	3. The Past - Teams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Congregation at Teikou.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: PTSD, DID, Child Neglect, and Abuse

It was unchanged. The waxed floors that shone every day. ~~So that blood and sweat would not stain the wood.~~ The nets and hoops that were replaced after every practice. ~~To not leave any forensic evidence behind.~~ The soundproof walls echoing the sound of dribbles and dunks. ~~So that no one could hear their screaming.~~ The heavy doors that only allowed the strong entry. ~~And no exit but through graduation.~~

How they _hated_ it so.

Seiren was the last of the teams to arrive.

No one was in a speaking mood, having had to gone through a police guarded gates of Teikou Middle School, immediately been shut down for investigation. They were required to identify themselves, reinforce their identity with school IDs and then were subsequently searched for any weaponry until they were finally allowed to go to the gym. As a private middle school, Teikou was well-established with one gym for each string of sport, three for basketball alone — twelve for their first and their chosen reserve players, forty for the second and the remaining from the hundred members were allowed to practice in the third and final alone. ~~Cut-throat indeed.~~

They were directed to the first one. Kagami stared at the locks and wondered how many times the six of them did the same, hoping for it to open and for someone to save them. ~~Too many times to count.~~

Everyone was uncomfortable to say the least, fidgeting as they exchanged silent greetings; some seating themselves carefully on the benches, some standing as they were too frustrated to sit, others in a dilemma as to do either one — all were clear on the elephant in the room, however.

The ones who called them here were nowhere to be found.

“Thank you for coming, minna-san.” The polite voice of Kuroko Tetsuya rang out as they all looked up, seeing the phantom sixth man at the center of the court along with the rest of the Teikou alumni, all facing their own teams. Kuroko appeared unruffled as usual, his face blank and giving away nothing, but Kagami sensed a _tension_ in his shadow, like he was very much uncomfortable of where he was and was trying his best not to be too obvious about it. Akashi stood to his right, monochrome eyes more intimidating than he had ever seen them, shoulders as taut as a bow string, expression _exceptionally_ cold. Aomine was stood on the other side, looking like the world had done him a great wrong, fists hidden under jean pockets and an agitated look that _screamed_ for any sane person to run in other direction. Midorima looked more apprehensive than on days that Cancer was ranked dead _last_ , taped fingers gripping the stuffed oni toy so tightly, he wouldn’t have been surprised if the stuffing was going burst out any minute. Kise was uncharacteristically quiet, amber eyes dull yet darted every once in a while at his surroundings, like _something_ was going to emerge to attack; the usually smiling lips pulled to a tight line. Murasakibara was the only one that was not rigid, his form almost subdued as flat eyes stared at the maibou that he was currently chewing on, not looking at anyone else. Like he had forcibly _locked_ himself inside his own mind.

It _scared_ the living shit out of Kagami. That being in this gym, made the strongest basketball players he had ever played against — _utter monsters_ — look _vulnerable_.

_Kuroko met his eyes. But they were dead. Almost... with nothing behind them, looking right through him._

“Apologies for not contacting or replying to any of your messages or calls yesterday.” Akashi begins, because of course, he is the one who takes control. “We were only notified hours beforehand about this investigation by a trusted source. We needed to make the appropriate measures to assure that we were not affected anymore by it than necessary.”

“The school informed us you all were being kept in a secret location while your parents were being arrested.” His coach says as the captains nodded, having informed of the same from their respective ones. “You all have been given indefinite leave for as long as you need to.”

“We are aware.” Akashi replied with a sigh, cold eyes unchanged. “And to answer your most obvious question, _everyone_ , the answer is _yes_. The contents of the report are _all true._ ”

If the former captain of Teikou noticed that the members of his former team flinched, he made no indication of it. ~~Or of everyone else’s.~~

“Kuroko has informed me that he took the liberty of informing his team of what happened in his time during Teikou.” All eyes keyed on the phantom or his team, questioning and nearly irate at the possibility of knowing Teikou’s abuse. “Omitting the contents of the report obviously, as a _majority_ of the events you were told are indeed true.”

Akashi proceeded to inform the other teams in the loop, the other five keying in every so often. How he and the other three were entered into first string in their first year. (Basketball was our _reprieve_. Obedience was not enforced outside of the rules of the game there, unlike our classes. We were free. And played for the _game_. We were still too young to receive treatments then.) Imayoshi felt ice grow at his spine at the last sentence.

Kuroko being in third string and playing with Aomine. (Tetsu played happily despite no one noticing him. Despite the fact that all the teachers _never_ acknowledged him purposely.) More than one person stared at the phantom. Kagami felt his fists whiten, gripping the metal of the bench. Tatsuya held his shoulder, keeping him from punching a wall or something equally as stupid. It was ironic as he looked as bothered as he felt angry.

Akashi pointing out how Kuroko could have been useful with his invisibility. (Kuroko knew no other use outside of being what his mother wanted from him. _To be her tool._ I regret to say that it was both a blessing and curse for our phantom sixth man for I had only informed her of another reason why her son was more useful invisible.) Hyuuga saw that Kuroko did not see that it was Akashi’s fault at all. He hated how it wasn’t. ~~It would have been so much easier if it was.~~

Kuroko inducted into first string and the end of the first year. (They began the real examinations and treatments, then. They were not _bad_ at first. Taking measurements, recording all of their plays, potential abilities and current limits, pointing out where we had gone wrong. We believed that the school merely cared for us by trying to get us to improve. We were _so_ naive.) _You were thirteen and fourteen years old!_ Katsumatsu wanted to scream. _You were supposed to be naive!_

Akashi’s captaincy, Kise’s induction and Haizaki’s exit. (Often, we would ask whether it was _us_ who were unlucky to stay or _Haizaki-kun_ in being forced out.) No one had an answer to that. Multicolored eyes gleamed momentarily, wistful. _They wonder it too._ Reo realized. _That what would have happened if they were saved before it all._

Aomine’s blossoming talent and lack of motivation. (We did not know it then. But Aominecchi was the one who was first because he played basketball for the longest. Why I was the last. And that was why we became like _this_.) Kiyoshi looked away, unable to stand the idea.

Nijimura-senpai and Shirogane-sensei’s exit after their second year. (It was like losing basketball. The desire to win no longer mattered. ~~Since they would always win anyway.~~ Our 20 point quota. Staying in first string as a regular. Avoiding punishments in the form of treatments. They were more important. We tried to just play and have fun. _We wanted to play basketball._ And _**they**_ _took_ it from us in the most horrible way.) Nearly all the senpai looked pained as they looked at the broken form of the best team in the generation, eyes horrified. 

One by one, the Kiseki no Sedai blossomed. (The examinations were suddenly made _weekly_. The treatments became _everyday_. Shirogane and Nijimura weren’t there to protect them anymore.) _That explained why none of them had any will to obey any form of authority. It either hurt them or left them to suffer._ Wakamatsu scowled darker than ever. 

They grew _cold_. They became _monsters_. Monsters that made their shadow suffer. (We were frustrated. We were caged circus animals that _belonged_ to Teikou. _We wanted to play happily again._ We couldn’t be _normal_ ever again. We _screamed_ why the world was not fair to us. And we took it out on the one that cared the most.) Everyone looked at Kuroko with a gleam of pity. _His team was broken beyond repair and he didn’t know what to do, because he was just trapped as they were. And he was betrayed in the sport that was his only escape by the only people who once understood._

They made an oath. (To _never_ speak of Teikou after 'graduation'. To discover what else **_they_** did to them. To find out who of them was the _best_. Because only a _monster_ could ever understand _another_.) We are the _Kiseki no Sedai._ We never wanted to be.


	4. Not Broken - Kiseki no Sedai

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuroko and Akashi discuss legalities. Nijimura fulfills his promise as the best senpai.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: DID, Child Neglect / Abuse and Self-Loathing

**Excerpt from ‘ _The Teikou Report_ ’ — Last Updated 04/01/20XX**

**File 006 — 11**

“…yet manipulative; possible sociopathy — undiagnosed.”

“Pain Tolerance (1-10) = 10”

“…attempts of harm, whether to self or examiner, must be interrupted _immediately_. Examiner must _never_ allow subject to leave line of direct sight and never demean team members in any extent during examination.”

Test Results of **No. GBP15** (formerly No. TSB109 and No. GBP16) — XXX (formerly X)

Physical Response Test — 50 — FAILED

Emotional Response Test — 06 — FAILED

Physical Control Test — 98 — PASSED

Emotional Control Test — 98 — PASSED

Activation of Abilities Test — 100 — PASSED

Suppression of Abilities Test — 0 — PASSED

Kuroko awakened to the sound of a notification that he _never_ wanted to hear ever again in his lifetime and following subsequent ones. A shiver grew from the base of his spine. But _that_ was the only custom sound that could ever force him from the deepest, exhausted slumber — _they_ made sure of that. Rising with a hidden rush of alarm, he answered it, phone cold against his sweaty skin.

It was Akashi-kun.

Succinctly and with little time wasted, Kuroko was made aware of the situation. As of a few hours, a case against their middle school was to be considered an open and pending one — _public_. The main driving force of evidence was a file named ‘ _The Teikou Report_ ’ that accounted from primary and secondary sources of what happened to the students under the care of Teikou Middle School. The mistreatment of the Kiseki no Sedai was emphasized — photographic evidence and individual folders for each of them were found, documenting their _progress_.

Kuroko was given a moment to absorb this. Gripping the cool sheets at his lap as sweat beaded his forehead, his eyes closing momentarily as the news sunk in. On one hand, Nijimura-senpai managed to have the case which was a miracle within itself, despite the deep corruption that was Teikou alumni that composed of the Akashi and Midorima patriarch, the Kuroko matriarch, and so many other influential persons. Yet at the same time, it meant that his and his friends’ darkest hours were known to the so-called _protection_ service everyone called the police.

It was… _violating_. And felt almost sickening to know that others _knew_ this information. ~~No matter how rational it was.~~

“To what extent, Akashi-kun, will this information be available?”

He was not naive enough to believe that it would be private information _forever_. But there was a level of it for witnesses and victims, more so if they were alive. With the influence of Teikou’s inner circle, such records were easily removed and deleted — but that was no longer available to them as much as they wished for it. Akashi-kun hummed in soft approval. “You are correct, Kuroko. I did not want for this information to be so readily available neither — merely our group title and the exposure of several of Teikou’s methods will be revealed. But details such as our individual files will be omitted.” _That meant their names would be public. It was no secret who the members of the Kiseki no Sedai were. ~~They made sure of that.~~ And after this year, his own name was no longer forgettable. _

Kuroko nodded into the phone. It was a compromise but better than a full disclosure. “Thank you, Akashi-kun.”

“No need.” Akashi replied, soft. “I was prepared for this, just in case.” _Of course he was. It was Akashi-kun. ~~They made it so.~~_

“Nijimura-senpai included you in the case?”

“Not directly. But he implied after he had left that we would someday may have needed to prepare for the fall of our former prison.” Akashi sighed, the sound of typing fingers pausing. “It appears that my other half could not let it go. No matter how much he appeared to be in control, Kuroko.” _No matter how much he tried to show that he didn’t care._

Kuroko paused, knowing that this conversation was not going to end so soon. Teikou may have given them the prestige of being the best basketball players with their nurturing, but it costed _so_ much. So much that Kuroko sometimes wondered if he had anything else left to give. ~~They will always find something to take.~~

“And of our parents?” What will be done of _them?_ If _they_ were free, they were not.

“All to be arrested in a few hours time.” Akashi delivered bluntly. “If not for child abuse, then child negligence at the very least. I have made arrangements for all of us, that I am currently in middle of making legal. Momoi has been assisting me since I had received the information.”

As expected of Akashi-kun. _Child_ _negligence. It is not foreign in his mouth. ~~It should be.~~_

It was true. Even though Kuroko’s mother, Akashi and Midorima’s father were more involved than the other Kiseki’s parents, by the end of the second year, _all_ of them knew that their child was under the thumb of a corrupt organization that took more than they acknowledged from their children. It was why Akashi-kun had broken down into a dissociative identity disorder, trying to take care of everyone before himself. It was why Midorima-kun watched Oha-Asa like a blind servant to his god, as it was the other thing that allowed him some kind of rationalization for it all. It was why Aomine-kun was hostile to every authority figure ever encountered outside of Akashi-kun. It was why Murasakibara-kun was so indifferent to not feel so that it wouldn’t hurt him like everything else. It was why Kise-kun was so deprived of attention and couldn’t help but ask for it, to let them all know that he loved them just in case. It was why he was so invisible and so forgettable, because the opposite meant he was no longer useful.

Teikou shaped them into monsters by trying to break them.

“Your orders, Akashi-kun?” They only succeeded in the _former_. ~~They tell themselves.~~

“Pack an overnight bag in preparation for police arrival. We will not be returning to our homes tonight without the appropriate guardianship. Momoi will be assembling the documentation, but some will be required for you and the others to bring.” Akashi voiced, straight to the point. No information was lost to Akashi or Momoi, but they had a short window. The original documents would have to do. Glancing at the time, the phantom removed a bluetooth, before agreeing. “By my estimates, the longest our parents and the board will be put away will be at maximum ten years and a minimum of three.”

“That is not long enough, Akashi-kun.” He paused in packing. Not for what _they_ did. ~~No amount of time would be long enough.~~

“I agree.” The captain voiced coldly before it turned solemn. “But there is another, more dire issue that I would like to call your attention to, Kuroko. There is a possibility that Shirogane-sensei will be arrested as well.” Frowning, the phantom appeared visibly annoyed in the darkness of his room, reading the text from Midorima-kun to meet at the next station to get to the Akashi estate. He needed to hurry. “Nijimura-senpai has suggested a way out for him.”

There was only one way to assure that a head coach, a member of the _education_ system, was exempted from corporal punishment.

“Victim testimony.” Kuroko answered as Akashi agreed on the other line, his voice resolute.

It would mean that they would have to relive those three years, _all over again_.

* * *

Kise stared at his yellow phone, vibrating and pinging every second now, as he watched blankly as his parents were handcuffed and escorted into police cars — a detective speaking to his horrified oldest sister. His second older sister was beside him, slight frame trembling as she held his larger form the best her smaller one could, like all those years ago when he was smaller than them, as if trying to protect him from the horrors of the world. Only she couldn’t have anticipated one of them was their parents. His mother shouted in tears that she had no choice but to _give_ him to the school at grim police officers, while his father was silent, not defending or opposing his actions. It was the quietest Kise had ever seen his father. ~~WHY DIDN'T YOU FIGHT FOR ME?! Why?! WHY DID YOU GIVE ME TO _THEM_?! Was I bad? _What did I do wrong?_~~

Kise felt as if he was watching a movie.

He should have been _relieved_. Nijimura-senpai succeeded. He _fulfilled_ his promise to them. He should have been _happy_. He should have been _smiling_ happily. _Kise doesn't know if he knows how to smile for real anymore._

But instead, the blonde had not felt more numb in his life.

He ‘ _graduated_ ’ from Teikou a year ago. He did not have to dread the upcoming April no longer for another ‘ _examination_ ’. He didn't have to go have any more _treatments_. He was _free_.

 _No, you’re not._ His thoughts echoed. If he was _free_ , then he would have been able to be _normal_. He would have just been a _normal_ high school student from Kaijo with a _bit_ more special abilities, having developed them _normally_ instead of the stupid time table set up by Teikou. He would have been _happy_.

 _ **Lies.** He would’ve probably done the same._ His thoughts sneered. It was still _him_ that copied his friends’ attitudes and pushed them all away. It was still _him_ that failed to give Aominecchi the challenge he wanted. It was still _him_ that did not see the slippery slope that was _his_ captain. It was still _him_ that saw the breakdown of _his_ team and did not do anything about it because _he_ was so absorbed in saving _his_ own ass. It was still _him_ that threw aside Kurokocchi like everyone else. Regardless of Teikou and his parents, it was still _him_ who was too stupid to see that _he_ was too absorbed in _his_ own situation to get better than Haizaki to survive the next examination. ~~It didn’t matter if the others did.~~

 ** _Shut up._ **_Of course it mattered!_ **_Kurokocchi. Aominecchi. Murasakibacchi. Midorimacchi. Akashicchi. They all mattered!_**

 **_They_ ** _had_ **_to pass. As long as they_ ** _passed_ ** _._ **

**Because** …because if they didn’t pass… **he** would be _alone_ … **all alone… all alone** … **no one understood like _them_** … **_they had to_** … **_everyone had to pass_** … he would _watch_ for hours on end… **_as along as they passed. They all had to pass. ~~He couldn't be alone again. Never again. Never. Never. NEVER.~~_**

“Kise.”

Flinching at the familiar voice, the blonde stared in a catatonic state to see he was in a police car with a shorter man beside him. ~~_When did he get here?_~~ He had a badge was clipped to his belt with a gun — _Detective Nijimura Shuzo_ — in a crinkled suit, he sighed annoyedly in that same frustrated air when one of his kouhai did something he found particularly stupid. “ _Kise_. After two years outside of my care, you’ve forgotten your greetings already, _brat?_ I recall teaching you better than _that_. _”_

The familiar scold, the _promise_ of violent punishment in the rough voice, the protective tough _love_ of the senpai who saw and _cared_ — it was like he was suddenly in middle school again. Tears welling up and a large lump in his throat, he tackled his senpai into the leather, noodle arms tight like his life hung in the balance, he opened his mouth in an overwhelmed cry.

Held by the senpai who was more than any parent was to them, Kise gripped the man’s shoulders and cried loudly, tears thick and hot down his face as warm hands cradled his head and neck and held him. Whispers of comforting incantations echoed in his ear as he ignored everything but the man before him. 

" _S-Senpai._ _What took you so long?_ " ~~We _waited_ for so long. For too long.~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit more tame, since I wanted to include at least one of six's reaction to news. along with building the case that will blow up from the release of the report.  
> Nijimura is so underrated, he deserves to be shown why he is the best senpai. Even if he isn't perfect.


	5. Self-Defense - Teams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Kiseki no Sedai learns why the color red allures them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: PTSD, DID, Child Neglect / Abuse and Descriptions of Violence.

When Akashi finished, the gym was quiet. ~~The screams.~~

Some looked as pale as a sheet. Some looked angrier than anyone had ever seen. Some looked so despondent it was near inconsolable. But all looked just as lost on what to say. ~~They didn't know what to say either.~~

Murasakibara had curled into himself, eyes carefully duller than Kuroko’s had ever been — a hand gripping a finished lolly stick, no longer snacking. Midorima was stiff beside him, not close enough to touch, but close enough to be in each other’s space and it was unclear who was grounding who. Aomine was a taut muscle, seemingly unable to relax as he glared at everything and anything, warning anyone stupid enough to say anything to _shut_ the ever-loving fuck up. Kuroko was blank and deadpan, which made him even more pitiful to look at, knowing that it was the only reaction he knew anymore. Akashi appeared to be the only one unruffled, if it were not for his own version of the haunting glower that they all shared. Kise mirrored each of them; the unmoving frown from Midorima, the slight shiver from Murasakibara, the tension from Aomine, the loneliness of Akashi’s stare and the blankness of his expression — they were displaying their default defenses.

The giant retreated into indifference to minimize his pain.

The shooter grounded himself into what he could accept as his reality.

The ace was all offense to defy and burn to stop thinking outside of anger.

The phantom became his namesake, hiding in the shadows to be forgotten.

The captain held all the control he could, even if they sliced open his hands.

The copy did what he did best, to mask what he was, another version of another.

“…D-Did you try to defend yourselves…?” The most unexpected person asked, as all eyes shifted to a Sakurai Ryou, shaking and looking like he was near tears to begin apologizing for being alive and existing all together. But before he had a chance, a _laugh_ broke out, breaking the tension with an earth-shaking shatter.

But it was not the comforting lilt of the peal. Rather, it was the bleak hilarity that echoed in the halls of the gym from Aomine as everyone turned back to him, taking in his shaking shoulders. They were all _smiling_ even if Kuroko’s was a ghost of one, as if amused by some sort of inside joke.

 _Of course they did._ The audience stared and listened. ~~They were monsters.~~

(Murasakibara was the first to kill someone. He underestimates how much strength to use after one of his treatments and _crushes_ someone. It was the first time any of them sees a dead body up close. Nijimura-senpai is pale as he watches his kouhai. Sees how none of them feel _anything_ for the ~~human~~ that died in front of them. Instead, all of them note how vibrant it looks against the wood when they are pulled out of the gym by sterile hands that make their world turn dark.)

“It worked after that.” Murasakibara mumbles, gnawing at his nails absently. “When I say I will crush them. _They_ believe me.”

(Midorima is next. When someone off-handedly mentions how unfair it is for a higher being to _bless_ the five miracles. ~~Six~~. How some were just that _lucky_. How some were just _fortunate_ enough to be born with it all. Then a _line_ is crossed. There was a haze of red. Before it became a shower, bathing the shared room in _vermillion_. Akashi, the only other occupant in the room now, stares at the dripping red, marveling with a tilt of his head as Midorima stares at him past the spurting neck, curious at the gold in his friend’s left eye.)

“I was given a first hand view.” Midorima reflects, lifting his glasses. “Of the most important arteries in the body.”

(Aomine follows afterward. It is quick and swift, much like himself and in succession. Six necks are snapped, resembling bobbleheads than human. ~~One for each of us.~~ Hours later, the bodies are gone along with the little blood. And the orderlies are replaced.)

“They were always replaced quickly.” Aomine yawns, almost detached as he speaks. “Since the numbers only grew from there.”

(Kise, naturally followed, with his blossoming talent. It is messier. He had just finished a treatment after all. No one could expect him to aim very well. ~~Someone~~ They lost their tongue. He was aiming for the neck like how Kurokocchi taught him on the stimulation. Red dripped down their chin, making the middle-schooler grimace. This person wasn’t smiling anymore. He made them smile. Like examiners there wanted him to.)

“We knew death. Our parents _knew_ that we knew.” Kise laughs lightly, bright and oh-so-softly like he was cooing. “We knew that if they turned red and stopped moving, we wouldn’t have to go through any more treatments that day. The only thing we _didn't_ know was how to die.” 

(Akashi is the last. He manages to get out of his room. Leaving his color in every room as he jabs his scissors in soft bodies relentlessly. Kise sees him when it colors only his hair, near indistinguishable. Midorima sees him when it drips from his cheek like tears. Aomine sees him when it is the only color outside of his left eye. Murasakibara and Kuroko do not see him. No one receives treatment that day.)

“I dream of it sometimes.” Akashi admits, a nostalgic smile on his face. “If I had not been caught, if I had gotten the others out, what expression would the world make to find middle schoolers covered in so much blood?”

Kuroko has as well. _Everyone_ , from Akashi to Kiyoshi, are surprised.

(He is alone. His friends and him were due to graduate. He is alone. He is no longer _useful_ to his friends. ~~Does he even have any friends left? Ogiwara-kun wouldn’t see him. He doesn't even have basketball anymore.~~ Two orderlies enter. Leaving the door unlocked. Because they know he could not leave.

“Man, does that blonde have a set of lungs! Crying over a stupid _injection_. And that blue kid! For such a reputation, you think he would be more lively.”

“They are just middle school kids. I think the red one is more scary.”

“Don’t talk about them like they’re _human_ or somethin’! And that’s true. He _does_ have the highest kill count.”

“You’d think it be the purple one. Or even the green one. They were _once_ human, you know.” ~~What is human anymore?~~

~~Was it to be like this?~~

_If so, he does not want to be **human**._

“Yeah, but I bet if you open them them up, they are probably all sorts of fucked up. They all belong to _Teikou,_ remember? They can't be human after all _that_. You don’t really leave when you **graduate** from here. _Thank god._ ” 

For the first time in years, emotion fills his dead eyes. He removes the first orderly’s vocal cords, ripping them through skin, flesh and trachea. Blood splatters over his face. His expression doesn’t change. He proceeds with the second who can’t see, since he no longer has eyes.

His mother sees immediately the first time in years when she comes to find him. He is covered in red and has removed all the organs of the second, sky blue eyes blank yet completely _seeing_. To see if they are really the same in the inside, he answers when his mother demands it. He gets his answer.)

" _You are a monster, Tetsuya-kun. What does a monster know of being **human**?_" ~~He doesn't want to know.~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a thin line between genius and madness everyone.  
> We have to be careful with our words, people. Because even the most patient of us has a trigger.


	6. What Has Been Done - Kiseki no Sedai

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Murasakibara is nurtured and Midorima commits to his faith.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: PTSD, Child Neglect / Abuse and Human Experimentation.

**Excerpt from ‘ _The Teikou Report_ ’ — Last Updated 04/01/20XX**

**File 002 — 06**

“…ignored in future examinations: childish speech, indifference to overall consciousness, high calorie intake, harm to examiner, protective of team members and intolerance for any form of authority.”

“…to examiner must be interrupted _immediately_. Examiners are required to be larger than subject.”

Physical Results of **No. GBC5** — XXX

Reaction Time (ms) — 2

Strength (1-100) — 100

Endurance (1-100) — 100

Test Results of **No. GBC5** — XXX

Physical Response — 100 — PASSED

Emotional Response — 03 — FAILED

Physical Control — 74 — PASSED

Emotional Control — 08 — FAILED

Activation of Abilities — 96 — PASSED

Suppression of Abilities — 78 — PASSED

_Their rooms are still there._ Nijimura tells them when they are all gathered in a large government mandated estate, overnight bags thrown over shoulders and eyes haunted. There is no forensic evidence outside of the pictures in file. The police are not even sure if _all_ of it is in there.

Kuro-chin and Aka-chin exchange a glance. They _know_ it isn’t.

Sanada only cared for skills that related back to basketball ( _The less I know, the better._ ) unlike Shirogane ( _I apologize for my powerlessness, child. For being unable to protect you._ ) who taught them crushing the people in white was fine ( _Because they hurt **you** first._) and that it was _okay_ that they couldn’t feel anything when they crushed _them_. He called it _justified_. The law called it manslaughter, murder, homicide, killings — it was against the law and a _crime_. ~~Nijimura hushes Midorima.~~

Mido-chin shivered after he killed for the first time. Not because he was scared. Not because he regretted it. Not because he was sorry. It was because they weren’t _normal_ anymore. ~~They couldn’t be _normal_ as criminals.~~ They _couldn’t_ be normal anymore. Aka-chin had said that just because they knew how to kill a man fifty different ways, it didn’t mean that they _had_ to. But they did. _All of them did._ ~~Except Kuro-chin.~~ But Kuro-chin was never normal to begin with. ~~Even if he had never killed anyone.~~

Mido-chin was angry. They had hurt _Aka-chin_. They made him watch Mido-chin suffer. Nijimura-senpai said it was _okay_. It was _right_ to kill them. They didn’t hurt anyone on purpose like Haizaki. ~~Sometimes, he wonders if he should have.~~

They knew more than how to kill a man. Fifty different ways. ~~And more.~~

They also knew how to hide one away. ~~Not that they needed to here.~~ How to use chemicals and materials for disposal in both person and body. Murasakibara was the best at this — how much melted away flesh, which ones maximized pain, what was most agonizing and the ones that were the most potent. So much white.

 _Think of them as powdered sugar, Murasakibara_. Aka-chin would say to him. Even though both of them knew they were poison and one gram would be sufficient to end a man.

He was the tallest, but he was also the most spoiled. He knew that the others doted on him. _They promised him._

Mine-chin said that he would tell him if there was anyone in the way when he was mad just in case he could accidentally crush someone, since he was the fastest one. ( _I'll tell you, Murasakibara. I'll always tell you._ )

The people in white were not _someone_. Mine-chin said as red dripped from his feet. ~~They do not deserve to be.~~

He agreed.

Mido-chin said he would tell him if the food he ate was okay to eat.

The people in white tried to give him snacks once. Mido-chin threw it back at their faces, denting in one of their skulls. Blood spurting out of the severed frontal artery. They did not live, screaming. ( _Do not patronize us, **scum**. Murasakibara may not be the brightest but he is the one who **synthesizes** poisons. Imbeciles._)

Mido-chin didn’t even flinch. Neither did he. It was also the very last time they tried that.

Kise-chin said that he would tell him if anyone lied to him, since it took a liar to know one. ( _But never to you, or the others, Murasakibacchi. **Never to you guys.**_ )

The people in white _always_ lied. One of them tried to lie to him to get him out of Kise-chin’s room. Kise-chin tore out his tongue. To make sure he could never lie to him ever again.

Aka-chin said that he would take care of them, like Nijimura-senpai promised.

The people in white doubted him and for that, they died. Some of the people in white would go missing. Some of them would ask. He would stare and know. But he never told. ( _It's nothing, Atsushi. It's just the powdered sugar, remember?_ )

Kuro-chin said that he would always be there. The people in white were always there too. But Kuro-chin was _always_ there. ( _Please take care of yourself, Murasakibara-kun. For all of us._ )

He was there whenever he ran out of snacks in his room. When they wouldn’t let him out to get more. When they couldn’t get the right brand or kind. He was always there when he was in verge of hurting himself and everyone else. ( _Which is why he is there for them, because they only have one another l ~~eft.~~_ )

He does not know if _they_ knew all of the things _they_ did to them. Not even they knew as the days often blurred together. There have been times he had tuned out at home and had found himself at basketball practice the next, having been teamed up with half of his team. He doesn’t mind it though. The others take care of him well.

They _promised_. And unlike Nijimura-senpai, they _never_ left.

Even when they left _Teikou_.

Graduating Teikou was a built upon a set of requirements. Requirements that were extended just for the six of them ( _You’re special._ The people in white say. _You are so special, we must remind you where you come from. And who you will **always** belong to.)_ \- the infamous Kiseki no Sedai and their Phantom Sixth Man, never before that moment did he hate their reputation more than anything in the world.

All of them hated it — yet it was what held them together with basketball — an unbeatable team of six. How they have endured, Murasakibara sighs as he follows the others back to Teikou. In some ways, it was as if they had _never_ left.

Midorima sees the school before he is fully prepared for it.

It is too early for the spring sakura of April. ( _On anniversary of your admission! We will make it so that your examinations will be on the first of this month, that way you will never forget! They succeeded. They **never** forgot._) The limited edition Oni he held in his bandaged fingers nearly tore under his grip if Kuroko had not placed a hand over them, snapping him out of his funk.

 _He was fine_. He sent to the phantom silently, relaxing slightly. Kuroko merely nodded, quiet. He does not move his hand and Midorima laments once again.

_What the rest of us did to deserve Kuroko, to be under his care along with Akashi, he does not know._

_He does not want to. ~~Because that would mean that he would know how to remove himself from them. And that was not acceptable.~~_

Without Akashi, he may have not been in this situation. He wouldn’t have gone here if Akashi’s father had not suggested it to his. That may have been true.

But what was _also_ true, was that he wouldn’t have graduated Teikou _without_ Akashi. Just like how none of them would have survived one another _without_ Kuroko. The five of them were _normal_ once — his devotion to Oha-Asa was a hobby, Murasakibara’s eating habits the result of a growth spurt, Akashi’s need for control due to his upbringing, Aomine a basketball idiot and Kise was just a bored boy who wanted a challenge. Then _they_ distorted them.

Momoi found out by accident. She had been returning from her information gathering early, deciding to check up on her boys. None of them were in their assigned classes. One said one had been called up by a teacher. Another stated they had duties to attend to. Someone said they often left for no reason. It could have been dismissed as no big deal. It could have been _nothing_. But no information was beyond the reach of a Momoi Satsuki. She found their rooms a week later.

Underneath the first-string gym ~~where no one could hear their screams~~ , so that they could move their subjects for testing quickly. It was practical and conventional.

“Midorin?” Momoi whispers behind his room, seeing him through the small window just above her head. “ _W-What is this?_ ”

He doesn’t hear her. ( _Sound does not travel down here, No. GBSG7._ )

He rises at the sight of pink as her magenta eyes are wide with horror. He shouts at her to leave. Before they find her too. Before they put her into a room they did with the rest of them. She doesn’t hear him. She looks for a door. ( _The door is hidden in the wall. The locks are changed everyday. ~~It becomes hourly.~~ Because they know they are watching now._)

She shouts she will be back, he reads on her lips. He pulls at the softened chains that keep from reaching the other side of the room. Even though he knows it will be useless. Even though he knows he will soon be released for basketball practice. To test the new synthetic enhancement that did not work on the others. But decided _he_ was compatible.

Aomine nearly went comatose on Monday. Kise lost all feeling in his legs, amber eyes so scared, only Kuroko had managed to get him to stop shaking hours later _after_ nothing else worked on Tuesday. Akashi killed three orderlies until they were able to administer it, and all it did was make him _angrier_ , sentencing four more of them on Wednesday. Murasakibara managed with no side effects, outside of a migraine that almost broke down his door, a feat within itself since it was _layers_ of reinforced steel on Thursday.

He only felt a dull pain where it was pumped into him intravenously today.

Momoi is right. She came back. _Dressed in white._ Magenta eyes red like she had been crying tears of blood. He does not blame her.

He does not blame Akashi. He does not blame his father. He merely blames **_Teikou_**.

He resigns to himself. That God _must_ have predetermined it. Because if he does not. He is _afraid_ he will blame the only good thing he has left from this world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like to think that Murasakibara is the baby of the group and that has not changed. How do you not spoil him?  
> And Midorima is the most rational outside of Akashi / Kuroko, but like the rest of them, something had to give.


	7. Chase Shadows - Seiren

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuroko recounts, and Seiren listens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: PTSD, Child Neglect / Abuse, Human Experimentation and Implied Self-Harm (but like not really).

_Child negligence, abuse and willful abandonment of child._ The police state as his mother is arrested, not even out of her nightgown. He stares. ~~Guilty. By all accounts and more.~~ His father was out of the country for business and his grandmother was removed from the family tree so long ago, as he fiddled with his wrists, the phantom ache arising.

It was where those soft handcuffs dug into his skin, never leaving marks. No evidence that he was held against his will. No matter how hard he tugged. His skin remained pristine. White, pure and unmarred. How he _hated_ the color. How he longed for it to change. To remind him that he was in reality and not in a hell space.

To remind him of all that happened in that condemned place. ~~To remind him that it all just wasn't a dream.~~

The famous Nijimura-senpai arrives. He tells the teams that they will have to leave now, since they need statements from his kouhai. They all leave reluctantly, eyes never leaving their respective colorful first-year. ~~They do not leave.~~

The detective hands them each a recording device. (You do not have to address anyone. _You do not even have to speak._ _Just_ … in case if you feel like you can share it.)

Kuroko is first to move, walking away, unnoticed. He stops at the third-string gym, small steps making his way onto the waxed wood. He presses record, fingers completely in control. His lips part slowly. Words of how he had trained here for hours by himself explain. How rumors of a ghost were formed because of it. A haven for him that he shared with Aomine, the first person who acknowledged him in Teikou.

“I am ignored 364 days out of the year.” Kuroko says as he pauses before the free throw line, facing the basket like it was a god. He, the servant, _beseeching_ his lord. “I did not lie to Kagami-kun. It was my birthday, the day Aomine-kun spoke to me. The first person in Teikou to have acknowledged me as a cohort.” ~~At all.~~

His treatments were done here when his room was too small. He tells his invisible audience with his blunt tone. It was his mother who sees how useful his low presence was when he accidentally overhears a conversation between his mother’s enemies when she absently forgets him at a bar. He is five. He is loved because he is _useful_. His mother teaches this to him. To be loved, he must be _useful_. Therefore, he must be invisible. It does not bother him. ~~Yet.~~

He was happy. Kuroko states blandly, empty eyes staring at something no one could see. He was alone. And learned how to be happy like that. In the shadows. All alone in the darkness.

Then, he met Ogiwara-kun. His first friend. A bright smiling boy, too bright for Kuroko’s shadowed world. He falls into it, face first. _Willingly._

His mother hears of it.

He does not hear from Ogiwara-kun again until Teikou. Because of her machinations. ~~He begins to hate.~~

Basketball became his escape. He was not particularly good at it. He did not mind. No one saw him to acknowledge it. Kuroko Tetsuya was his own person who lived in a world that had only one other person. He was a belonging of his mother. He was a ghost. He was a phantom. He was _nothing_. He did not have presence nor much of any existence outside of his mother’s occasional acknowledgement to her convenience. His father is not home long enough to notice him. His grandmother does not ~~cannot~~ return his calls.

He attends Teikou under the orders of his mother. _~~Off you go, Tetsuya-kun.~~_

He is still useful as he joins the basketball team. He is given a number. Everyone is known by a number. ( _No. TSB109? We had that many?_ ) His mother does not say anything until Akashi-kun teaches him how to be more useful. That night, she acknowledges his presence for the first time in months, stating how she was surprised to hear that he was still playing. ~~_Lie._~~ He does not answer. He isn’t given that right yet. She continues, saying how skeptical the coaches are of his standing and overall usefulness. _~~Truth.~~_

He has to be _useful_. She says. Otherwise he will not be loved.

He believes her. ~~No, he doesn’t.~~

Kuroko commits to his training. Develops his own techniques. Undergoes treatment after treatment almost recklessly. _To be useful._ Watches clips after clips. Ticks and cues of human behavior. How to draw away their eyes. _To be useful._ ~~To be loved.~~

He ignores the suffocating silence that befalls, eyes locked on the beams of the setting sunlight refracting over the hoop. He explains how his weak body reacts against the drugs they pumped into him, how he initially screamed for escape in this very gym when he was ‘treated’ and how he tolerated pain after pain to develop his blank expression for every situation — to get to be in a team with them. _With Aomine-kun._ To meet him on a court together. To fulfill their promise. With Akashi-kun and everyone else. _Together._ ( _From today, onwards, you will be No. FSBP16. Welcome to the Teikou first-string._ )

It was worth it. He says. He made new friends. _Akashi-kun. Midorima-kun. Murasakibara-kun. Aomine-kun._ And even a student of his own, in the form of _Kise-kun._

They all loved and played basketball together. Won together. Suddenly, he was not there to be ~~useful~~. He was there because he _loved_ it. He smiles for the first time in years.

For a time, it mattered not that the rest of world did not see him. It did not matter that no one could as long as _they_ did. He was ~~useful~~ _loved_ by them. Then, his mother and the board of directors noticed their potential. _To be monsters._

All of them end up in separate rooms. ~~_What is a team when you are all alone, Tetsuya-kun?_~~

He no longer receives treatments in the third gym. He is in a new room with no door. Only a window for _others_ to see him. Instead, he watches as his friends are changed into monsters. ~~Like him.~~ He watches as they are changed beyond repair. ~~Like him.~~ He watches until he cannot watch anymore. ( _Congratulations! You are now GBP15._ He never before felt so hollow.)

He is _**useful**_. _But what is the point of being useful, when no one that mattered can love him?_

Kuroko leaves the gym, clicking the recorder. Expression blank and unfeeling, he does not acknowledge the shuffle of his team behind him, following after his shadow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, we start the countdown with everyone's fav cinnamon roll and must-be-protected-at-all-times Kuroko (aka my child). Obvs I reference some of the canon stuff in here cuz there are times that I wonder how true half of the stuff Kuroko says is, even if it was for comedic reasons in the anime, there's always the 'what if there is a darker truth here...?' Or it could be the years of misanthropy catching up... eh
> 
> And updates are probs not going to be until Dec 12/14 (depends on schedule and life bs) so, just a heads-up for y'all.


	8. Radiant Light - Tou

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aomine has his turn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Child Neglect / Abuse, Human Experimentation, Descriptions of Violence, Reference to Self-Harm / Suicide (kinda... ish - it's a metaphor!)

**Excerpt from ‘ _The Teikou Report_ ’ — Last Updated 04/01/20XX**

**File 004 — 06**

“Accepted and admitted with consent.”

“Recommended by No. GBPG4’s ******”

“DOB — 07/07/19XX, 13 years at admittance, 174 cm”

“Room — 1C”

“As of March 11, 20XX, the subject has graduated as a successful result of the following induced…“

Test Results of **No. GBSG7** — XXX

Physical Response Test — 96 — PASSED

Emotional Response Test — 65 — FAILED

Physical Control Test — 97 — PASSED

Emotional Control Test — 45 — FAILED

Activation of Abilities Test — 97 — PASSED

Suppression of Abilities Test — 97 — PASSED

Aomine arrives at the rooftop, tall stature casting an imposing shroud over the highest point of the middle school. A hand gripped the recorder, careful to not snap the plastic while the other hid in his jean pocket. It shouldn’t have been surprising that they all broke off, feet taking them wherever it took them. They may have shared the experiences together, there was also others that were experienced alone, _oh so alone._

Wind swirling softly, he presses the button and begins.

He is a basketball idiot. He is built on and loves basketball — from street ball to the games he plays in Teikou — he loves it. And he knows ~~now~~ that he was not the best. It does not matter. He plays it because he loves it. ~~Until he doesn’t.~~ And then back again.

Teikou is chosen because of their national level basketball. He wants to see where he stands. He wants to be measured and be challenged in ways that street ball cannot do for him. So, he saves up the funds for him to go for his first semester, all for _basketball_. His parents do not care as long as they do not have to pay for it in entirety. ~~He now sees that they never cared.~~

He goes to Teikou. Plays basketball with Akashi, Murasakibara and Midorima.

Then, he meets _Tetsu_. His shadow ~~not anymore~~. He meets someone who loves basketball more than him. Who _dreams_ to play with him on the same court. And is determined to make it a reality. When Akashi speaks to Tetsu one night, he does not know what it implies. _No one but Tetsu does._

Tetsu develops his passes. But no one but Aomine believes in him. So, he risks _his_ basketball on it. _No one_ loves basketball more than Tetsu. _Not even him._ _No one_ deserves to play basketball on the same court as them more than _Tetsu_. _No one_ deserves to be the shadow to his light more than _Tetsu_. _Tetsu is worth him risking his basketball on._ He is worth his offered basketball scholarship from Teikou. _Tetsu is worth it all. ~~So, why did you hurt him?~~_

And in the end, he is. _He is Aomine’s shadow._ The duo that is unstoppable on the court. That will get them out of a pinch when they were not yet good enough.

The examinations and treatments change.

They are longer. Instead of being contained for half an hour from class that he initially welcomes, he is held in there for an hour. It grows from there. And so do the procedures. It was an informal check-up. Then he would be given a pill before leaving. Then there would be so many that he didn’t know the names of some of the colors anymore. Syringes removed blood from him. And put in clear liquids in.

Eventually, they stopped answering his questions. ~~Stopped giving him excuses.~~ Only told him that it would make him better. A better _what?_ A better player? ~~No, a monster. His childhood friend whispers as he dunks over him, eyes haunted.~~

Daiki has his scholarship. His parents were happy, that their troublesome son was finally not that much of a burden. Haizaki leaves and Kise enters. Basketball is still fun.

He blossoms. He sees the people in white more often than he sees his teachers now. He sees more players that do not even try anymore. He asks Tetsu if all their effort is worth it. He receives his answer via popsicle. Shirogane and Nijimura-senpai, his team — they all helped. _They all tried._ ~~Even when they were suffering in their own ways.~~

The treatments and examinations continue. His are the longest.

Then everyone else begins to blossom. And they are gone too. They no longer see one another outside of grouped treatments and games. He watches as Akashi tries to hold the shards of their team together with bleeding hands, uncaring on how much it hurts him. His captain stubbornly holds on. He watches his shadow try to keep his light at bay. _They try._ They, so persistently, hold; the two most stubborn people he has ever known.

But even they make mistakes. Akashi is cut so deeply, he becomes _cold_. Tetsu is so stubborn, he begins to _fade_. ~~_Basketball is...f-_~~

When he breaks, everyone else breaks too. Shirogane isn’t there anymore to tell them to keep their heads up, to dream a better one or to try harder because the best is not just found in Teikou alone. Nijimura-senpai is no longer here to pat their heads after they are shaken, after they are so lost, they do not know what to do or at a loss as to what to say.

 _What do you do?_ He screams. _What do you do to stop yourself from being a monster? When you didn't even know, you were becoming one and had already been labeled as such? ~~What do you do?~~_

~~_Basketball is..._ ~~

He becomes desperate. _His parents_ , he realizes. He tells them of the treatments. The examinations. ~~The torture.~~ _Save me. Save me and my friends. Before they make me more of a ~~monster.~~_

Teikou is inescapable. He chose the school. The people who gave him life _bellow_. A school that pays them to allow their son to have a better education. _Why can’t he just endure for their sake?_ He realizes that his parents are no better than the people in white. He _itches_ to see red. ~~_To escape. To stop this. He doesn't want to be a monster!_~~

Red stops him. “Just because we know how to kill a man fifty times, it does not mean we have to.” _But **they** … even if they were his parents, they like the people in white hurt him **first**._

“Daiki." His captain says, hands no longer warm and kind. ~~He did not know that he would miss them.~~ "Do not let them take what humanity we have _left_.”

_We are already monsters. Do not have to prove it to them either. Do not give them **that** satisfaction. Blood may stain our fingers, but do not let be stained by the ones that brought us here too. _

Akashi stayed. (He could have left when he escaped once, but he _didn't_. ~~Not like Nijimura-senpai. Not like Shirogane.~~ ) Even when he broke into gold. He steadies his hand, removing it from the plaster above his old man's head, a trace of sick satisfaction humming in his heart when he sees the elder had urinated his pants.

Satsuki finds them. She finds him in his room. She pounds at it the strongest her thin arms can. He can’t hear her. All he can do is shout back at her, tearing at the fucking polymer-steel-strong chains they use to hold back _Murasakibara_ , yelling insults at her to get her _to get the fuck out_. She is stubborn. And does not leave until the people in white find them. _**They** move to grab her._ He sees red.

 _The window_ , his electric blue eyes hone in. _It does not break._

Not even when blood drips from his knuckles. **They** do not stop in trying to drag her out. **They** believe he is contained.

 _ **They** are wrong. _ _It breaks when he spins a roundhouse kick._

The glass fragments plink onto the floor, red coloring the floor in his blood.

He grabs the new weapon ( _Everything is a weapon, Aomine-kun. There is only a matter of when the situation calls for it to be one._ ), eyes glued to major arteries and required organs for survival. He does not miss. ~~He can’t miss.~~

 **They** do not move. Satsuki does. Unharmed and steely as she steps over the people in white like they are trash. ~~They are.~~ “ _Dai-chan."_ She whispers, soft fingers running through his hair, barely able to reach through the window. "... _W-What have they done to you?_ ”

 _Many things._ He answers. _So many things._ The people in white come back. These ones are not foolish enough to grab Satsuki. **They** ask her questions. **They** try to get her to speak to them away from their rooms. Satsuki does not move.

She commands them with the esteem of a Teikou manager. She displays the collar and chain that she holds over **their** No. GBPF6 clearly. She negotiates with a monster on her fingertips. He has never been more unnerved by her tactics as a informant and manager more than _this_ moment. She leaves and returns in white.

Contrary to her initial thoughts, he is not angry. He is not stupid. He knows that she is only trying to help. ~~Even if she is in white.~~ She is still Satsuki. _She is the girl in pink._ ~~Not in white.~~

But he is already a _monster_. _They are already **monsters**._ Monsters that are designed to win by forfeiting everything else. **Basketball is no longer his.** Basketball is a noose. And he is merely waiting for the fall. For he is a _mere_ basketball idiot.

Until _his_ shadow, the shadow that loved basketball more than him, _tears_ it from his neck. _Freeing him._ ~~The monster he is.~~

He opens his eyes, not realizing that they have closed and turns away. Tou reveal themselves when their ace is well out of earshot — not knowing what to do but follow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up, everyone's problem child and low-key tsundere, Aomine. Honestly, before the Winter Cup, Aomine looked like a dead man walking to me. Even more so after the Teikou Arc when you see how happy he was before and you learn why he is like that. I'm just... adding a bit more reason why. Inspired by that boy that was Aomine's Ogiwara calling him a monster - like... LET ME EXPAND ON THAT *creates Teikou experimentation scenario* Welp. WE ARE ALREADY HERE. :D


	9. Prideful Visage - Shutoku

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akashi leads, Midorima follows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Child Neglect / Abuse and Human Experimentation.

Aomine makes it to the rooftop, seeking the outdoors. Kuroko is at the third gym, where he begins. Kise stands at the soccer field, silhouette lonely as it was before and after everything. Midorima lingers at the lockers, a cage of orange spheres on his way there. Murasakibara sits quietly at their table, no food in sight.

But he knows eventually, they will converge. Even at different schools, they cannot help but.

He remains in the first gym, recorder held in idle fingers and just as swiftly, his scissors replace them. Unlike the pair that Midorima lent him, these are his. They are surgical scissors — _Metzenbaum_ — that he had developed a penchant for at his time here.

Similar to Midorima’s fascination with the human body, he had simultaneously developed one with just how much blood one could remove with the initial stab of scissors. And just what would happen if they were to begin cutting. _~~They hurt them first.~~_

A soft sigh colors his lips. He makes his way to his room.

The lockers are quiet. Pristine and littered with memories. He can still see the old bottle of disinfectant he used to clean them stuffed into the corner with dirty rags. Freshly laundered towels set by the side. The fading doodles that Kise had written on his old one and the scuffs on Aomine’s from years of abuse.

Arguments over shower times, who held the ball too long, and some of the many small _almost_ meaningless conversations — it seemed _so long ago._ Yet the room still reeks of air freshener, a hint of sweat that will never fade and the assortment of many shampoos. It is nostalgic. Taped fingers hesitate, before pressing the button on the plastic, the silence enhanced with a low beep.

It begins with a conversation.

He is not home when his parents are given the suggestion for his new school. He misses Oha-Asa that morning, only aware that his little sister had told him that his rank was second to last and his lucky item was a bus pass. Perhaps, if he did not walk home and had gotten his lucky item earlier, he wouldn’t have gone to Teikou. Maybe he would have gotten home earlier to voice his opinion and say that he was to choose his own life. Instead of letting his parents nod and grovel before the feet of an Akashi Masaomi.

But that is not his fate.

He goes to Teikou. He meets Aomine, Akashi and Murasakibara. Basketball is a game, he enjoys. The feel of the basketball on his hands. The exhilaration of the game, the machinations. They are not the best. They are normal players that happened to good enough to be in first string in their first year. _They are proud._ And deserve to be. ~~Until they take it from them.~~

But they are human. For they cannot be good all the time. ~~Yet.~~

Then he meets Kuroko. He is weak. He is invisible and just as easily forgotten. Yet Akashi displays interest. That is enough to observe this cohort closer. And as usual, Akashi is correct. Kuroko becomes interesting. He is _completely_ dependent upon them, yet upon the court when he enters, it is _they_ who are dependent on _him_ to let them have their victory. It is ironically fitting and works well with their team as Kise joins when Haizaki is properly disposed of.

Before he realizes it, he has made _friends_. Friends that may not understand his eccentric way of caring and need to have lucky items, but they do not ridicule it. They may tease and be blunt at times, but never intentionally hurtful. ~~It is nice.~~

The day the treatments and subsequent examinations change, his lucky item is maibou. Dread builds when he notes that none of them are particularly high on the ranks — with the purple center at the bottom, who is advised to not let his temper get to him. It does not matter. It is a coincidence. He tells himself.

~~It is not.~~

Murasakibara crushes someone literally. ~~He is not fast enough.~~ When Midorima awakens, he is at home.

His parents do not speak to him. ~~They have not done that for some time now.~~ Mizuki is asleep. He begins to question the school he attends. ~~It’s too late.~~ The treatments and examinations get worse. Because instead of being alone in his suffering, the people in white have the idea that with another person there, they would react differently. Akashi is present in his next treatment. He kills for the first time. ~~_They are right in that at the very least._~~

He does not regret. He does not give up the grip on his scalpel, his lucky item. ~~_Is this what God has proposed to him?_~~ He instead stares at Akashi. Who has a golden glow to his eye, head tilted and covered in blood. It fits him. The blood drips from his blade as he decides it fits himself as well. _~~To be a monster, is that the answer, God?~~_

Aomine feels it first. The results of the treatments.

He sees the signs — he tells Kise as much at this very place. His hands are stronger. So sensitive to the feel of objects that he must bandage them to not let the tactile digits lose feeling altogether due to overexcitation. He throws the ball so high, to prolong the momentary feeling of nothing, selfishly. He excuses them for his basketball. For he _cannot_ let them take the feeling of throwing three-pointers from him. They couldn’t take that from him either. ~~But they did.~~

Shirogane notices. He brings them back. “There are those who are better than you, you have just yet to meet them.” A kind, apologetic smile.

Nijimura-senpai notices. He brings them back. “Enjoy your moment. You all are still kids. Enjoy the fact that you still are.” A pat of hidden affection, protecting.

_If there was those who are better than them, why didn't you take us with you? ~~Why did you leave us here?~~_

_Here, where you know what **they** would do to us? _

_How can we enjoy our moment when the **only** thing we can think of is running away from our prison? How can we ever enjoy when **it** was ripped away from us?_

_How can we be kids anymore? ~~They were only monsters now.~~ What did it mean to **enjoy** it any more?_

_What does it mean to enjoy basketball, when you don't know how to anymore?_

Words that reassured, that once comforted, were only **bitter**.

Mizuki finds him the night he tells his parents, his room a mess. Lucky items thrown and broken. Useless like _him_ , his parents have made that clear. Splintered from within like the _monster_ he was. Yet, she hugs him. Her tiny hands bunches his sweaty shirt, as she hugs him, quiet. Like he does when she wakes from a nightmare. _She does not know._ But she knows that her onii-chan, the one who says he does not care yet ties her shoes for her every morning and makes her lunch everyday, is in _pain_. She can see it. _So, why couldn't they?_

He does not tell her. He merely hugs her tighter. And whispers that everything will be alright. ~~_Lies._~~ But she was his younger sister. He had to lie for her ~~and for himself.~~

He makes her lunch the next morning. He ties her shoelaces. And returns to his prison. Because that is all he is left. _A mere monster._

Midorima presses the button, stopping it and without a glance back, leaves. The memories, the smell of sweat and his team hidden in the other row of lockers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Halfway through, it is our tsundere and weirdo with his priorities straight, Midorima. So, he has a little sister here and in canon - and got me thinking that he wasn't as arrogant (by much at least, since he was the first to put aside his pride for the team), and that's cuz he has a little sister and needs to take care of her too (sibs are a lot of work guys, I have one of my own.) cuz their parents are shit like everyone else's. He doesn't have the time to be as self-absorbed as the others. But still self-absorbed, nonetheless.
> 
> So, next update is probs 12/16 or 18, depends - just had a recent elder's death in the fam so, going to be busy for a few days for yours truly.


	10. Descent of the Pawn - Kaijo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kise monologues and Nijimura gets news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: PTSD, Mania, Human Experimentation and Child Neglect / Abuse

**Excerpt from ‘ _The Teikou Report_ ’ — Last Updated on 04/01/20XX**

**File 005 — 07**

“…affectionate, extreme mood swings, possible bipolar — undiagnosed.”

“Pain Tolerance (1-10) = 07”

Physical Results of **No. GBSF8** — XXX

HR — 60

BT — A

Reaction Time (ms) — 2

Strength (1-100) — 87

Endurance (1-100) — 90

Test Results of **No. GBSF8** — XXX

Physical Response Test — 87 — PASSED

Emotional Response Test — 93 — PASSED

Physical Control Test — 88 — PASSED

Emotional Control Test — 12 — FAILED

Activation of Abilities Test — 86 — PASSED

Suppression of Abilities Test — 87 — PASSED

If he squints, he can see it. The field is pristine, freshly cut and morning mildew long gone. Kise remembers, how the soccer team and every sport outside of basketball wanted him, to be their ace player. He turns them all down. _What a bore._ If he knew what Teikou had in store for him because of his joining of basketball, he does not know if he would have changed his decision. Because of what he gained in the end, even with the suffering. _Why should he get to escape, when his friends would suffer?_

He walks over to the steps that he once sat with Murasakibaracchi, interrogating him of Kurokocchi before he was Kurokocchi, stretching out languidly before pressing the button. Amber that matched his eyes glowed, as he pauses, trying to find the words.

It takes him three minutes to find them. _Too slow, No. GBSF8. How will you copy the others with this speed?_

His words begin with boredom — as that is what his life is, modeling is a side hobby but no life career and no sport challenges him enough for him to really _try_. Until he sees Aomine. Aomine who becomes Aominecchi, because he has something that he cannot recreate as his own. Kise falls into admiration, _consuming_. He lets it. 

He cannot remake the instinctive flex of _years_ of street ball. _~~Yet.~~_ Just as he cannot do the same with the other three he has the pleasure of meeting when he sees them in action. ~~_Yet._~~ For the first time, he is _challenged_. He is excited and eager to please. But then he is assigned an instructor — a basketball regular that is deceiving in his appearance. He does not see the strength of those blank eyes, the sheer _iron_ will that is Kuroko Tetsuya and the utter kindness that those invisible hands can hold.

Until he _does_. Kuroko becomes Kurokocchi. And he remains as that.

He is better than Haizaki. He _knows_ it. Haizaki knows it. His captain knows it. His instructor knows it. But the people in white do not. _Not yet, No. GBSF8. Not yet, the former GBSF8 is still useful, for now._

But before he can prove it, Haizaki is gone. He was deemed unsuitable. _Not bright enough to be their ~~Kiseki~~ monster. _

His parents encourage his new passion. He does not realize it is for the wrong reasons. His father boisterously claps his back, happy that he has a sport that he commits to instead of modeling like his sisters. He does not know that they had given him away.

He is put through treatments. He is told that they will let him do better. The people in white insist that they are here to help him. He believes them. They make him watch videos. Plays of many skills. Sometimes once. Sometimes so many times, he loses count after thirty. But each time, they ask questions.

If he is correct, he is allowed to leave ~~at first~~. Until he blossoms. 

If he is not, he is given further treatment. Eventually, he is put through so many, he does not even recall when they stop the questions. _An act._

They _lie_. They bluffed him and he fell for it. _~~Stupid.~~_

It hurts when they inject him. _It doesn’t hurt, they lie._ It is mind-numbing to watch the same thing in repeat. _One more, just one more, they lie._ It is so lonely, surrounded by white. _We will be with you right here. Lies._ **_All of them are lies._** But it’s _okay_. He tells himself. _Because he has his friends._ Friends that are _strong_ , stronger than him. Akashicchi is **never** wrong. Midorimacchi can **never** miss. Aominecchi **never** dims. Murasakibaracchi has **never** faltered. Kurokocchi **never** gives up. They are a _**team**_. _A family._ **They can never take them away from him.**

They take it. _Slowly._

Aominecchi first. Murasakibacchi. Akashicchi. Midorimacchi. Then, _himself_.

Kurokocchi, the stubborn and _oh so fragile_ , Kurokocchi — he is broken from within, beyond repair and _he_ can’t help him. Kise grips his delicate fingers, capable of _so_ many things and yet he can’t help _any_ of them. Not when he can’t even help _himself_.

Nijimura-senpai and Shirogane are not here. They _can’t_ help. _They abandoned you too. **No. Stop. No, they didn't. ~~Lies.~~**_

He _despises_ lies, he realizes. He hates it more than pain. He _hates_ the fake smiles on the people in white. Like they do not know what they are doing to them. Like they are doing him a favor. Like they are not in wrong. Like they are not responsible for their suffering. Like they did nothing to contribute to his transformation into this _monster_. 

The treatments are harder. He is strapped down. He doesn’t remember half of them anymore. ~~Yes, you do.~~ He is too dizzy to even look straight by the end of most of them, much less standing. He learns to _smile_ to mask his suffering. That it would somehow keep it all at bay. He does not see that his team is broken beyond repair. ~~Yes, he does.~~ _He does not see it._ He tells himself.

He doesn’t want to see it. He doesn’t want to be alone. _He is not. ~~He tells them how much he treasures each of them.~~_

 **They** can't let him be alone. **They care. _His friends care!_**

Desperate, he gives up his pride and asks his parents to save him and his friends. His mother hands him a paper that has their signature on it. The document states that he is not under the custody of his parents, but a human capital of Teikou. _He is property_. He is not human. _He is a monster_ , his parents say with pride, _that is owned by Teikou._ He stares at them with crystalline tears dripping down amber eyes, wide. _He_ … who was scared from being objectified in the modeling world — was no **_human_** , what _monster_ had the right to complain for _**human**_ rights?

He laughs small. _Ha. Haha._ Until it grows into a _full_ maddening cackles, suitable for a fit of crazed _mania_. _How dare he, a monster demand **human** rights? **How dare he?**_

As they bestow him on graduation, he smiles in his pain. 

He is no _**human**_. _Then why should he treat the people in white humanely?_

Akashicchi does not care. Midorimacchi is lost. Aominecchi is almost comatose in the will to do anything. Murasakibaracchi is not even there. And Kurokocchi is broken. _None of them would care._

 **Yes, they would.** He pauses his gloved hand over his sleeping parents. ~~Vulnerable, neck bare.~~ The authorities would investigate if his parents are found dead in their bed. _They had to._

 **Teikou is inescapable.** He grips his fists, yellow eyes aglow in the darkness, frustrated. **They would care. Akashicchi, even the other one, _cares_. Midorimacchi, no matter how lost, _cares_. Aominecchi, no matter how dead he is inside, _cares_. Murasakibaracchi, no matter how far he tries to run, _cares_. Kurokocchi _cares_ , no matter how broken he is. — and _they_ would not want him to fall for them.**

Kise presses the button, gaze far away as he briefly notes that the sun has begun to set. He ignores the ache on his back from sitting too long on the stone steps, mindful to not see the group of blue hidden in the corner of his eye.

Nijimura stands in the distance, sighing as he does nothing — _as if_ the presence of six basketball teams escaped his notice, and his ~~cute~~ brats were not _that_ absentminded. Flipping open his phone, he reads his latest text with a scowl.

**Shirogane Kozo and Naoto Sanada have been arrested, sir.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next is the affectionate and copycat blonde, Kise. No matter how sweet and ditzy Kise is most of the time, I always remember how easily he slips back and forth from his mask before the Kaijo practice match and thinking... 'There is more to this boy than his affection for Kuroko and Teikou.' He is the newest of the Kiseki, so I think it's appropriate that he is so clingy to them, they are first team to be a challenge to him and to keep his attention for so long.
> 
> So, next update is 12/18, probs. Maybe later. I dunno. Depends. Life is stupid rn.


	11. Hold With Care - Yosen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nijimura calls, Murasakibara holds on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: PTSD, Human Experimentation, Descriptions of Blood and Violence, Child Neglect / Abuse

Nijimura calls immediately. **Misdemeanors in failure to report child abuse.** The very least, the sentence was six months with an ~~expensive~~ fine and at maximum, which he was vying more for was a year. Shirogane was retired now, a man recovering from his sudden sickness and Sanada had retired after his kouhai had graduated, solemn and resigned when they show up at his large home.

Nijimura stares at Teikou as he listens. The devil had come for his due.

For what they did to those six poor children. They may have not held the syringes, forced them into their treatments or even made them attend, but they _did_ sit by and watch as they _broke_ , one by one.

 _They_ knew it. The _six_ of them knew it. _Now, the rest of world did as well._

And the world was seldom _fair_.

“There is something else I should warn you, Nijimura.”

“Boss?” It was already questionable that he was on the case, since he was the one to submit it and was also a direct connection to it — not to mention, it is _literally_ his ~~adorable~~ kouhai. But he is the _best_ detective in _fucking_ Tokyo, so tough.

“… The government is _interested_.”

The blood in Nijimura freezes. **_No. Not again._** _Their fucking luck couldn't be that bad._ “ **What.** ”

“They are _interested_ in your kouhai.” His boss repeats, his rough voice from smoke echoing. “The brass _wants_ them, Nijimura. _They want them in **their** labs._”

_Fuck. ~~It could.~~_

The cafeteria is clean, sterile even. The smell of bleach and antiseptic permeates as Murasakibara lingers at a particular table, the very same that was implicitly of the basketball first-string and theirs alone. Despite the staff’s best efforts, Mine-chin’s carvings of their initials on the metal, Aka-chin’s favorite hiding place of his famous scissors in the skirt of the cuff and Mido-chin’s thin scrapes from accumulating lucky items being placed at the same place — they were all still there.

He seats himself, for the first time with no food before him, silent. Languidly, he drops the recorder on the tabletop, listening as the plastic bangs loudly. The button stares at him. He stares back. Cold.

“Powdered sugar…” He mumbles before pressing it.

Murasakibara is not alone. He has two older brothers and two older sisters that dote on him — they are not taller than him but they are not any less. Although his sisters are really scary once a month. His parents are never home. It is a fact of life.

His mother was a workaholic and her husband the same species, supporting five children that grew into their respective fields — his role was the youngest. His siblings were already successful enough, leaving him to pursue what he wishes to. But that is the problem. He is not lost or confused. He is _blank_. He does not know what he wants. He knows that snacks make him happy and that he is good at basketball. It is easy for him to reach the orange hoop that everyone else has to jump so far to do the same, and he does not care for too much work. _It’s a bother and troublesome._

He goes to Teikou due to chance. It is a school known for basketball. Little does he know, it holds so much more. ~~So much more.~~

He meets others like him. It is hard to see at first.

But they are _like_ him. Talented at basketball enough to have the potential to glow but are still too raw to be the greatest. ~~Just yet.~~ They are young, confused, and easily entertained. ~~That's why they take them.~~ He names them fondly — Aka-chin, Mine-chin, Zaki-chin and Mido-chin. Kuro-chin comes in later. He is _different_.

He works hard. He puts in effort. He is driven. More than _he_ , the phantom’s exact opposite, could ever hope to be. Murasakibara tells him so. And Kuro-chin agrees even if they do not agree in terms of basketball. He is still a part of his team, their reliable shadow to relieve them when they are in a tight situation, like _he_ is their powerful center, a last line of defense. _They are a team._ _They are his friends._ Even if he would rather give up maibou for the rest of his life than admit it.

His treatments are bothersome even if they are initially rewarding. The people in white know his favorites ~~at first~~. They reward him if he listens and does as he is told.

Their relationship is _almost_ … mutual for a while as Kise-chin replaces Haizaki. ~~Do not call him Zaki-chin. He does not deserve it anymore.~~

But it does not last. Because of him.

It happens in a group treatment, the first of _many_. And the least bloody one. ~~Because they are still human.~~

It is an accident. He does not mean to make the floor red. ~~But it is so beautiful.~~ He does not mean to crush them. He does not mean to use that much strength. He just wanted to finish so that he can have his promised candy. Aka-chin reacts first, sending the first orderly that tries to grab him with a syringe in hand down with a high kick to the face, using a stiff Aomine as a temporary pivot. And as if in automatic drives, Kuro-chin is in front of him, eye level while he can feel the wall cold against his back.

 _Ara? When did he get so low?_ ~~Red. Beautiful red.~~ “Murasakibara-kun. Can you hear me?”

Dumbly slow, he meets Kuro-chin’s blank eyes. White soaks up the red, ~~oh so beautifully~~ as Mine-chin and Aka-chin tower over them, in front. Kise-chin is in-between them, holding up an unconscious Mido-chin. They are just as mesmerized ~~by the red~~ until the thought of Mido-chin slumped over processes. _What happened to Mido-chin? Is he okay?_

“Midorima-kun is unconscious but fine, Murasakibara-kun. Deep breathes, Murasakibara-kun. _Please calm down._ ” But he was. He liked the red that seeped on the wood below them. It was pretty like a strawberry. It was so beautiful. ~~To spill it.~~

_**What** … What is happening?_

But before Kuro-chin can answer, hands grab them. The people in white take them, one by one. Aka-chin is dignified even as he is caught unaware by a syringe after in the midst of disabling three orderlies. Kuro-chin slumps over weakly, as one holds him down, face planting to his feet. Mine-chin snarls and growls with all the ferocity of a panther as he requires four of them jammed into him to quiet. Kise-chin whimpers as the needle is stabbed into his back, form hovering shakily over the prone form of Mido-chin, protecting. All until it is only him left, stiff and staring.

The people in white approach him slowly. He growls, bloody hands threatening.

 _Bloody hands?_ He looks down.

His team are splashes of color in the sea of white and red. And he is at the _center_ , a barely breathing person in white at his mercy. Their legs are bloody splints torn off savagely and by some miracle, was still breathing. Until with a stutter, they stop. (He doesn't... He doesn't feel _anything_. ~~WHY DOESN'T HE FEEL ANYTHING.~~ )

He is the one that is the final trigger for them to begin their descent into monsters.

~~Because he is the one that shows them how _right_ it feels for red to pool under their feet.~~

The treatments change. They are harsh. They do not care. The people in white do not speak to him unless they absolutely have to. They flinch if he moves, even slowly. He learns that if he does not react, they do not hurt as much. He learns that if he makes himself small, the world does not seem as bad.

His snacks don't hurt him. His friends don't hurt him. He is not alone.

Everyone else is here too.

Mine-chin promised. Kuro-chin promised. Aka-chin promised. Kise-chin promised. Mido-chin promised. Even if they are not _always_ there ~~because they are monsters too~~. They didn’t leave like Nijimura-senpai or Shirogane. ~~They didn’t run away like Haizaki.~~

He does not tell his siblings. They had more than once dismissed his words as the mumblings of a child fantasy. He was a child.

How would he know how to kill a man? _He does._

How would he know the synthesis of poisons? _He does._

How would he know that there are people in the world that used their children as capital? _He does. ~~He knows all too well.~~_

His parents hand him a check for the month, consenting in their haste for his treatments at Teikou. Even when he begs them to save him and his friends. _You love basketball, don’t you?_ _**They** said it would help you. ~~**They, who hurt them first.**~~_ _Why would you trust the word of **them** when your son is the one who is telling you, **they** are hurting him?_

 _Basketball is a chore._ He tells **_them_**. _So, that they can’t take it from him. ~~Like everything else. Like everyone else.~~_

_But **they** take it anyway._

Murasakibara sighs, not turning off the plastic thing before stuffing it in his pocket, too annoyed to eat, walking off. Yosen exchanges looks before following after their center to the first-string gym.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second to last, our big-child and sleeping dragon is Murasakibara. Obvs, he is not as slow as everyone thinks he is (or he makes others think), but I don't like how people keep on showing how he is one dimensional - I think he has a lot more to him than just food and being obedient to Akashi. Tho, I have to admit he was a lot harder to write than the others (along with Aomine). Hopefully, he's not OOC or anything (cuz I hate that more than anything else)  
> And Nijimura is doing his best, guys.
> 
> Next update is probs later the following week, depends. Sorry for the late update. Shit hit the fan and is still doing so. Life is meh and family sucks. Especially cuz they can't be fucking rational human beings.


	12. Bleeding Fingers - Rakuzan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Akashi, it comes in full circle. And is finished with Nijimura.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: PTSD, Implied DID, Child Abuse / Neglect, Human Experimentation, Metaphoric Self-Harm and Implied Violence.

**Excerpt of ‘ _The Teikou Report_ ’ — Last Updated on 04/01/20XX**

**File 003 — 05**

“Subject: Aomine Daiki, No. GBPF6 — XXX”

“Accepted and admitted with consent.”

“DOB — 08/31/20XX, 12 years at admittance, 175 cm”

Physical Results of **No. GBPF6** — XXX

Reaction Time (ms) — 0.5

Strength (1-100) — 90

Endurance (1-100) — 100

Test Results of **No. GBPF6** — XXX

Physical Response — 98 — PASSED

Emotional Response — 57 — FAILED

Physical Control — 72 — PASSED

Emotional Control — 23 — FAILED

The rooms are equidistant from one another, sterile and lined with nothing hard enough for them to hurt themselves on. Each was simple and bare. He stops at his, the label and name etched on the side of the open door scrawled in familiar handwriting: **No. GBPG4 — XXX, Room 1A**.

It was true. He was, indeed, the Graduate Basketball Point Guard, Jersey No. 4 — Danger Level XXX. Only six other persons were considered the same level. Haizaki and Nijimura were only XX, powerful and most definitely great players upon their own right much like Himuro of Murasakibara’s team, but simply not enough to be considered for XXX. ~~How lucky.~~

He seats himself on the bed, scissors by his side and recorder on. Poised ~~as always~~.

He goes to Teikou. There is never a choice. He has known this lack of freedom since his mother had passed. It is not all too much ~~yet~~. He is at the top of his class, he is Student Council President, and he is in the basketball team. By their second year, he is captain to add to his titles. ~~But it will never be enough.~~

He is _free_ even with it all and their constraints. The basketball that his mother introduced to him is still there. And it let him meet his friends, all fascinating and different in their own ways. But none so interesting as Kuroko. He watches as the boy fails to shoot, slow in his dribble, and lacking in his overall fitness despite his clearly veteran experience. He makes a suggestion, one that he will later wonder if it was truly the right thing to do. Because he condemns his friend to a fate that nearly breaks both of them. (Please do not blame yourself, Akashi-kun… You all have returned, that is _enough_.)

Kuroko returns to him in three months. And with a bit of tutelage, he has a new ~~pawn~~ friend in his team, one that will highlight the incoming years. ~~And prolong their suffering.~~

Kise is another one that comes in by their second year. ~~Haizaki... is no longer _vital_.~~

By then, the infamous treatments began. Harmless and juvenile. ~~For now.~~

But he knows that it is _illegal_. The people in white do as well. But still, they smile and lie as they illegally take his measurements and bodily fluids. _Your father has ordered it._ He remains still as his basic human rights are violated. 

_~~Filth. Scum. Peasants. Low-lives. Vermin. **Remove.**~~_ He shakes his thoughts aside.

But for his new status, he ignores it. He operates as the captain he was selected to be. And like everything, he does it _perfectly_.

He orders Kise to go with Kuroko to assist their second string. Because nothing less than proper ~~victory~~ teamwork was admissible.

He places a twenty-point quota to motivate his strong team outside of their passing specialist. Because his ~~pawns~~ friends needed to be on top of their form.

He oversees that Murasakibara’s snack bag is promptly packed for every game. Because Murasakibara was an assent to ~~his~~ their team.

He sets up an account set aside for Aomine and now Kise’s tendency to break hoops. Because ~~his~~ their team is that strong.

He appoints a manager outside of Momoi to ensure that a lucky item was on standby in case that something happened to Midorima’s own version. Because ~~his~~ their shooter needed to be in his top form.

In the end, it is _Haizaki_ he neglects. The people in white have deemed him unfeasible. ~~He is.~~ Midorima informs him that he had dismissed him personally. Akashi acts as if _he_ knows that. He acts like it was indeed _him_. ~~_No, it wasn’t._~~

It is when Aomine blossoms that everything began to shatter.

His quota is no longer a challenge. _It is a chore._ The snack bag is no longer a reward. _It is a requirement._ The account is no longer on the side. _It is necessary._ The precautionary lucky item is no longer needed. _It is met with obsession._ But yet, he holds on to the shards _dearly_. 

~~Nijimura-senpai and Shirogane are not here anymore.~~

They could not take _his_ team from him. Not even when they are shards. ~~Let him bleed.~~

Just as he holds them when Aomine finds out _he_ is the one who loads the bullets that hurt him. His power forward is carefully blank. ( _…You don't shoot them. The people in white do._ )

When Kise finds out he is the one who tells the people in white that his answers are wrong. His shooting guard has glazed eyes, staring through the now broken one-way window. ( _You’ve been having a hard time all this time, haven’t you, Akashicchi?_ )

When Murasakibara finds out that his repetition of treatments is because he is the only one who can see what his limits are. The giant merely pats his head, large hand pillowed in his hair. ( _Aka-chin… It’s just powdered sugar, right?_ )

When he lies to Kuroko that shooting is not an option for him, as he tries to better ~~kill~~ himself to keep his light by undertaking treatment after treatment. ( _Akashi-kun. I am fine. **Please** … stop hurting yourself for us._)

He doesn’t. And in the end, it is all useless. _He breaks._

He is cold and unfeeling as he spills blood during his treatments. They will eventually get to him. This is an undeniable fact. But he is by no means allowing them to have it easily. Not after everything they have done. _His father hears of it._ He visits when a new drug is pumped into him, effects unknown. His father eyes his new appearance before stating one thing.

_“You have become a monster.”_

And he has. All because of his father. He had become something that was a extreme side of his former self, deprived to his one freedom. The only thing that could have saved ~~them~~ him, became the cage that kept him from his freedom.

The recorder turns off.

He fluidly stands and exits the room, startling his team as they realize that their captain is staring directly at them.

Before anyone could defend themselves, Akashi spoke, looking behind them. "The others have arrived."

Confused, they followed their captain's line of sight. Only to see the rest of the teams and their respective Kiseki, crammed into the large hallway that opened into the hall of rooms. And judging from their expressions, they had heard their own accounts of this accursed hall.

“You all have disobeyed orders from Nijimura-senpai.” Kuroko breaks the awkward silence, walking past and stopping at Akashi’s side. The rest of the Kiseki are just as accusing in their gaze as they join the other two, but not… exactly bothered. More of resigned and tired.

“Like the lot of you didn’t notice.” Kagami grumbled, but still as guilty as the rest.

“True.” Kise huffed, pointedly not looking at his room. “And if Nijimura-senpai really wanted to, you all would have been kicked out.”

“So, why didn’t he?” Katsumatsu questioned, uneasy at being here.

“Because my brats needed you here whether they will admit it or not.” Nijimura’s stern voice replied, everyone turning to the former captain. Seeing his kouhai increasingly uncomfortable ~~even if the little shits will never admit it~~ , he nodded for them to leave and get back to the house. He would have tell them in private anyway. When they were out of earshot, he turned back to the pack of teams squished in the hallway of horrors.

“A year ago, the six of them wouldn’t even as much as look at each other. Yet, if you as much as looked at _one_ of them wrong, they would rip you three new ones _each_. Kuroko included.” Nijimura nodded at the rooms, pristine and deceivingly pure. “For their last year here, they were alone. Their parents practically gave them away and legally, they belonged to the school. The six of them only had each other and Momoi. Every year, on April 1st, the very first day of their first year, they had to return here even _after_ they left Teikou.”

“But I thought they graduated!” Takao exclaimed confused. _~~You never really leave Teikou.~~_

Nijimura shakes his head, morose. “You _graduate_ from Teikou, _yes_. But it doesn't mean you escape her.” _As if the memories and treatments were not enough._

“Every student of Teikou has _one_ requirement to graduate outside of what is required before the law — the insertion of a nano chip that cannot be removed in the cervical spine that transmits data to a system under the control of the board. This chip has tracking, sensors of physical and emotional data as well as modules of negative reinforcement if they did not listen.” Nijimura nods at the unspoken question, a hand hovering over the back of his neck. _Where his was, and everyone else who attended was._ “However, this was not enough for _their_ Kiseki no Sedai, _they_ argued. So, _they_ placed two more requirements.” _~~After we left.~~_

"Is there anything that this school didn't do to them?" Someone from Yosen — _Fukui?_ — said, horrified.

He ignored the question, answering in his silence. “The six of them had to pass the suppression and activation of their abilities to the satisfaction of _them_. And lastly, be aware at _all times_ , that they belonged to Teikou _forever_.”

Several of them seemed to get it. Nijimura noted. Aomine, Murasakibara and Kise’s captain along with another of Kise’s — _Moriyama? Was it?_ — got it. The older blonde Miyaji of Midorima’s. Kuroko’s coach and his captain. The low presence fellow and the vice captain of Akashi’s. And now for him to confirm it. “ _They branded it on them._ ”

Protests echoed from the red-headed new light of Kuroko’s to the skeptical gazes of the some aforementioned and it was not surprising. “It cannot be seen on them easily. It is tattooed with a tagged ink that can only be seen with a certain wavelength of color for each of them, it can only be seen in _one_ instance. One that you _all_ have seen first hand.”

_And what circumstance had the Kiseki had ever seemed to possess an unnatural glow to their skin?_

Turning away, Nijimura left the dark corridors, fists white in his pockets as he walked off. Any moment they used their abilities, the branding of color symbolized that it had come from **Teikou**. ~~As if they didn’t _work_ to get them.~~ _As if they were gifted from Teikou._ That their efforts to be better players in basketball was _not_ at all due to themselves but **Teikou**.

 _They belonged to Teikou entirely. As long as they played basketball._ _And how could they give up basketball?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, the charismatic and dependable Akashi. Boi is not okay. Canonically and every which way. Hence, the shit parenting that is Akashi's dad. But he has Kuroko and his friends at the very least. GOM are exclusive-overprotective-squad-goals and anyone who says otherwise is lying to their cow.  
> Now that we done with the statements from each of the boys, the story is going to shift a bit to dealing with the implications of their time in Teikou. As well as divulging in the 'treatments' and more significant events of their time there. Cuz these statements are vague for a reason. You don't just tell everything in a detailed account for the police just one year after you are traumatized. The details and story will come like pulling teeth (remember we had to wait until S3 until we knew most of Teikou arc).  
> Next update is... maybe next week. I dunno. I never fucking know. Probs. I promise nothing.


	13. Standard Protocol

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charges and consequences are discussed and subsequently, resolved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: PTSD, Child Abuse / Neglect, Human Experimentation, Implied Violence and Death, Casual Mention of Mass Murder (me on an off-day *cough* everyday *cough*).

Dinner was a nonexistent affair. Mentally exhausted, the probability of them going off into their respective rooms for a long-induced sleep was a near guarantee. But luckily, when they entered, their former manager was awaiting them. With a tray in hand, she smiled warmly before holding out her offerings, not saying a word.

It was warm milk tea, served with differing ingredients for each of her charges. _~~Just like old times.~~_

Thanking her individually, they each took one before following to the lounge, the previously mess of papers, pens and office items thrown about was now nowhere to be seen — all organized into a neat collection on the side table. The silence was quiet but comfortable as they awaited for the pinkette to return from the kitchen, having brought an assortment of snacks that she thankfully had no hand in making outside of removing the wrappers. Murasakibara happily helped himself, no one making to do the same.

“Has Nijimura-senpai said anything about what will happen to you all?” Momoi asked, her demeanor calm. Beside her, Aomine stiffened. ~~She did not include herself in that sentence.~~

“Outside of our temporary home, no, Momoi.” Akashi replied smoothly. Red eyes flickered up from the rim of his mug. “Though, it would not be surprising if Shirogane and Sanada were arrested by now.”

More than one person appeared troubled at the redhead’s words. But not particularly surprised.

“As much as I would like to play pointing the finger,” Midorima began, lifting his glasses. “It is a moot point by now, wouldn't? The most they would be charged with is a year, possibly even as minor as a fine, now that we have recorded these.”

The bespectacled member of their group pointed to the assortment of six recorders, tagged with their names. ~~Not colors.~~ Nijimura-senpai was not _that_ sloppy.

“If the case goes in our favor, but there is still a matter of our futures.” Akashi narrowed his eyes, annoyed. _Although..._

“That was also my concern, Akashi-kun.” Kuroko spoke up as all eyes turned to the phantom. “I had thought that it would be best that we discussed it with everyone.” 

Kise narrows his eyes. “Are you referring to our teams?” They all saw those _looks_. Pity and concern. He was a monster that may have been formerly _human_ , but even monsters have their pride. 

Aomine and Murasakibara got visibly annoyed at this unspoken conclusion as the former made no qualms in letting his thoughts be known. “ _Keh!_ They obviously are blind if they think that they have the time to be pitying me!” ~~Us.~~

“That is not what we were talking about, you idiot. At least, not all of it.” Midorima sniped, shaking his head. “We are talking about the fact that those reports hold _more_ information than is needed. Information that can compromise our future in basketball and more if we are not careful.” ~~_And thankfully, it was **only** their files._~~

“ _What?_ ” Aomine breathed, suddenly pale. _He... he was just given his basketball back._ ~~They couldn't take it away again!~~

“Based on the report from Teikou alone, it can be inferred that we are not naturally gifted like Teikou sold us as in middle school but due to _their_ drug treatments, it could be argued that we ‘ _cheated_ ’ into being geniuses.” Midorima explained as the others outside of Akashi and Kuroko, blinked in horror of what their friend was saying. “And not to mention, your previous point, they may deem us too mentally damaged to make our own decisions. We are _still_ minors and cannot speak for ourselves in the viewpoint of the nation.”

That was the ironic thing of a youthful genius. On one hand, others expected you to be an adult because you _understand_ more than your peers, yet when it is _convenient_ for others, they seem to recall the number of years they had lived.

~~_If that mattered now, then why did they do that to them?_ ~~

“And we are not accounting for your death counts either.” Momoi added as her eyes seemed to panic, not helping. “You all could be charged with _manslaughter_ … o-or _murder_.” _They couldn't take her boys from her. **They**... couldn't do that. She would not let them do that. Over her dead carcass._

“ _We_ …We can go to jail…?” Murasakibara whispered, stunned. ~~_He couldn't be in a white room like that ever again._~~

“None of that is happening.” Akashi cut in before anyone could continue to drive the downward spiral of their conversation. “The accounts from Nijimura-senpai, Shirogane and Sanada will make it clear that our actions are not murder but out of _self-defense_. And in regards to our basketball skills, it is can also argued to be the opposite that our abilities are genetic and nurtured to be powerful by Teikou’s _care_. Any scientific individual can see that we were not randomly chosen, but carefully selected, implying that their experiments were not effective to all humans.”

If there was anything that Teikou executed in the highest caliber outside of victory, it was efficiency. If they could have nurtured more than ~~five~~ six Kiseki, they would have. _No question._ It was a matter of they _couldn't_. 

“And of our mental states, Aka-chin?” Murasakibara questioned. None of them were particularly _sane_. Personally, the center did not know if he would _ever_ be.

“We are _minors_ , Atsushi. One could argue that we are not entirely through with our development just yet.” Akashi shrugged, lowering his mug to the table, hands out by his side before his eyes glinted with a familiar, ominous gleam. “But if there is an inevitable _complication_ … I have made the _proper_ arrangements if it gets that far.” ~~_If they dare._~~

All eyes but Kuroko’s widened as they stared at their captain, who smirked at their astonishment with obvious amusement. Before he delivered the kicker.

“Tetsuya has so _graciously_ suggested this to me.” _Oh, how he missed **his** phantom sixth man._

A chill of fear and respect ran through their spines as they stared at their blank phantom, sipping his vanilla tea in silence while Momoi swooned over the man she loved. Meeting their gaze, Kuroko merely rose a brow.

“Akashi-kun exaggerates. I merely reminded him that we were considered _Level XXX_ in Teikou.” _~~We are monsters, after all.~~_

* * *

“ _No_.” Nijimura refused tightly. His fist gripped the steering wheel as he held back the age old urge to break something. Right now, it was preferably, his boss’ face or the stupid brass that was pressuring them. Either would do. He wasn't in a picky mood. “They are _minors_ — _haven’t they been through enough?_ ” _I shouldn't even have to ask this fucking question._

“ _Know your place_ , Nijimura. You are still a member of the academy even though Teikou’s connections sped you up to Detective."

(Even when the fucking school is exposed. The school name _alone_ still held so much _power_. Nijimura personally did not know if he is glad because of the new power vacuum it created in the chaos or that it was _Akashi_ and _Kuroko_ of all people, who took over. A shiver ran down his spine. One he expected with trepidation, the other... _who the fuck can._ )

Nijimura took a sharp left, ignoring the startled honk behind him. “They just want them to come in and talk.”

“You have the recordings.” ~~_That you assholes made me ask for._~~ Nijimura snapped, arriving at the house as he quickly turned off the car. “ _That’s_ their statements. _End of story._ They have already graduated out of that place for a _year_ and all you are doing is making them relive all of it, all over again. You read those files and you had fucking nightmares about it for _months_. They fucking _lived_ through it!” 

“ _I know!_ ” His boss bellowed, Nijimura wincing before deep breaths echoed from both sides. “ _I know._ I know what those boys must have gone through was horrible and probably has scarred them for life. ( _No fucking shit._ ) But you know that if they can’t come forward, there is a _chance_ that the case will go south. And for us to get that far, they _need_ to meet them.”

Nijimura growled, but did not reply. His grey eyes stared into the quiet house that held his kouhai, lights still on. _Of course, who the fuck could sleep after all of the bullshit that was today?_

_God. Today is just one clusterfuck after another._

Sighing, he exchanged a few annoyed grunts to the man that signed his paychecks before hanging up and walking into the house. Pulling off his shoes and half a mind to scold the brats for staying up, he paused at the sight in the lounge, words dying a silent death in his throat.

Apparently, his kouhai could. Only in the company of each other. ~~_Cute._~~

Coffee table and other furniture moved aside, the six boys had futons outspread over the floor, curled up in deep sleep as a single lamp dimmed over them. Murasakibara and Midorima bracketed them, legs curled as the former hugged a large pillow while the other frowned lightly in his sleep, glasses off to the side. In the middle was Kuroko and Akashi, facing one another as the redhead was perfect even in sleep while the phantom’s infamous bedhead was fully formed. Clinging onto Kuroko as he did awake, Kise mumbled into his pillow as he looked gorgeous even sleeping while Aomine grumbled between Midorima and Akashi, shifting in his sleep as a hand on Akashi’s sleeve seemed to ground him back into quiet snores.

There was soft footsteps behind him as he turned, seeing Momoi with a finger to her lips and blankets in her arms. “Nijimura-senpai.” 

Nodding at her, he gestured for her to join him upstairs after she was done.

She arrived after he was done changing and was seated before his desk, laptop open. Gesturing for her to sit, he sighed. “How are they?”

“ _Overwhelmed_.” Momoi mirrored him, magenta eyes cool. “Whether they want to admit or not.”

He frowned before updating her on the situation, how their former head coaches were arrested, the government’s inquiry to them and the apparent need for a meeting between the two. Momoi appeared unperturbed outside of a narrow of her eyes when the government’s interest was addressed but outside of that, he couldn’t read her ~~anymore~~. “And there is the matter of you, Momoi.”

His gaze sharpened. “Why were you listed as one of the orderlies?” ~~_Why were you there?_~~

“ _Because I was one._ ” Momoi hissed, glare cold and not those sweet ones from so long ago, words biting. “Because if I _didn’t_ , Dai-chan and everyone else would have been stuck there all alone. At least if I was there, they would have some level of _comfort_.” _Unlike you._

He heard the words she did not say.

_Because **you** left them there. **All alone.** You left them to suffer like **that**. And did not tell **me**. You let them suffer because **you ran away**. Like a coward._

“I _may_ have been an orderly. I _may_ have killed people. I _may_ have done questionable things.” Momoi admitted, eyes lowered as if to display that the innocent middle school girl from a year ago was still there. But in a flash, it was gone, replaced with hardened eyes and a cold scowl. “But at least, I _stayed._ I graduated from Teikou too, as **No. BGMFS1 — XXX.** Even if I went through no treatments, it does not mean I did not learn any of Teikou's secrets, _XX_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Early update cuz I said so. And screw family. Cuz mine is a fucking shitshow.
> 
> Momoi is done with people fucking with her boys and that could include Nijimura if he is not careful. And senpai is trying his best. While his kouhai do what they do best (plot while everyone else is left unawares, because they are not worthy). I live for Dark!Kuroko, so he is here and will stay. Cuz boi is friends with GOM. There is no fucking way he is remotely sane. (none of them are).
> 
> A bit of fluff (ish?) to give us a break from all that angst, since there has been a significant amount of it throughout. Because if that's all there was, it would be boring. Hopefully, you all have the same dark humor as me. *shrugs*


	14. T037

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Treatment 037 through the eyes of Nijimura.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: PTSD, Child Neglect /Abuse, Human Experimentation, Guilt, Graphic Descriptions of Blood and Violence and Drugs.

**_Before the Release of 'The Teikou Report'_ **

“What is Treatment 037?” Nijimura cursed, mouth feeling like he had swallowed something bitter. After a minute, he sighs before taking them years ago. To the boys’ first group treatment. Later when correlating the accounts, the detectives felt their stomachs lurch as the submitted report recounted the same, nearly word for word.

“We were in the first-string gym. Akashi and Midorima were partnered in one court. Testing a new drug that was found to improve vision. To try to enhance Akashi’s field and Midorima’s shooting range by pitting them against each other with the same enhancement.” _Oe50_

“And the others?”

“Murasakibara had one court to himself, doing the same with Se28, a strengthening one. While Aomine and Kuroko were trying out the compatibility of their coordination with Oe90 and Pe102. Kise was placed in the sidelines, to watch the rest to memorize under a dose of Me05. The drugs were allowed to take effect and I was there to… _supervise_.” _~~Like I had a fucking choice.~~_

“Were you there to supervise often?”

“No. This was the first ‘ _group_ ’ treatment that the higher-ups had demanded. And to ease the brats in, they asked for me to be there. They… _noticed_ that the six of them behave when I’m around.” And it was true. Nijimura did not know if it was because his presence or whatever sentimental bullshit but the fact was undeniable.

“What happened?”

“An hour in, nothing outside of the ordinary occurred. They even bounced off small conversations with each other as they were undergoing basic observation. But then, on _accident_ …”

Nijimura told them with concise yet clearly traumatized words. How the not-small, purple kouhai had crushed a man with _sheer_ strength, who was not supposed to be that close to the court. Crippling said person in the manner of seconds as his legs were suspended from the rest of his autonomy, dislocated at the hip with a twist of a wrist and femurs looking like bloody toothpicks for limbs. How the same mellow giant refused to let go of the man in his fascination of blood, wanting to drag the bleeding human like a mop to see how much red he could cover the floor with. Then how the other colored children reacted with violence when the people in white tried to get control of the situation.

How they couldn’t hear him yelling at them to calm down. To stop moving. To let go of that _screaming_ man. To stop crossing a line they could _not_ come back from.

But his words were unheard. ~~_They were too deep to hear a human crying for mercy. How could they hear his?_~~

He watched as seventeen men larger than Akashi were paralyzed for life from the spine down instead of losing their lives via pressure points. Back-to-back to his then-vice captain, Aomine dispatched with fourteen others, soaking white in red, hands savagely snapping the lumbar vertebrae in those meat bags normal men called people like a beast. Midorima slumps over first, covering Kuroko when a terrified orderly moves too quickly to the shocked giant, taking the syringe of metallic liquid for the phantom.

C11. It was a debilitating drug. It made any of the Kiseki violently sick — severe withdrawal symptoms like an addict without their fix when they awoke, twelve hours later. It was as horrible as it sounded. And created for that reason _alone_.

However, they are not fast enough to take their first victory in the chaos.

Kise knocks out three of them that congregate over the shooting guard with accurate kicks to the temple, not hard enough to kill ~~yet~~. Because they are too preoccupied. He watches as they form a group around themselves, using the fallen bodies as screens. Their purple center is staring at their fallen comrade, the first sign of sanity in the room as Akashi and Aomine appeared to be done in mere paralysis and going for full _comatose_ victimology. Kise too doing his fair share as he grimaces at the sight of the metallic syringes full.

They pull him out of the room. And because they are cruel, they make him _watch_.

As they take them down one by one.

They take them down strategically. Aomine is removed first. He is taken down bodily by several brave souls that tackle him onto his victims. Then shot accurately in the back. _Four times._ The fact that it is his jersey number is no _coincidence_.

Kise is next. They manage to corner him until he finally cowers at the sight of the needles. Amber eyes wide with fear and clear trauma. They do not flinch. Even when Kuroko and Akashi are trying to get to him. But it is clear there are too many of the orderlies.

Akashi is taken down in his distraction by three orderlies sneaking behind him. And even then, he still manages to knock them out with him by slitting their necks. Superficial enough for them to live but enough to bleed out into the realm of unconsciousness. His favorite scissors land with a loud bang as he falls over his victims.

Kuroko is the only one left to take care of their center now. Barely covering Murasakibara’s shaking form. Knees to his chest, hugging the dying man and face buried in Kuroko’s neck. The phantom whispers something. He does not know what. And he believes that he never will.

But it is enough to make all the people in white pale.

They quickly throw him to the floor and knock him out. _Uncharacteristically harsh._

Then again, if he knew how dangerous Kuroko was _then_ , would he have blamed them? ~~_Yes. Those fucks deserved it._~~

Finally, Murasakibara is alone. And like the _child_ he is ~~that they all are~~ , he goes down with a cry.

The people in white had to speed up their metabolisms to break down the C11 in time for school dismissal. He tucks each of them in their individual beds, shaking and shivering in their sleep. Blissfully unaware of the world for just a little longer.

It is the little things that break him eventually. The way that the posters of basketball players are clawed into shreds. The way that a shaking hand that was more suited for modeling than blood grips the hems of his shirt so desperately. The small hum of gratefulness when he gives candy, like the boy was doing well when he shouldn't have been there in the first place. The grateful whisper when he encourages them when they do not have the capability to speak them. The stare of knowing from those blank eyes yet were so trusting and so hopeful, he cannot muster up the words of escape from his throat. The then monochrome that silently pleaded him to not leave them.

His father is sick. ~~_Or so they claim._~~

Teikou is not below it. They gave their own _children_ away. And he was not disillusioned into believing he was worth more. They wanted him _gone_. Him and Shirogane.

He refused to leave. _For his brats._ For those six _kids_ under his care. _~~He already lost one.~~_ He refuses to lose anymore of them. Especially after he hears that T037 was no _accident_. ~~He does not tell his brats.~~ Because the _guilt_ to their friends is what keeps them human he tells himself. ~~_It twists them._~~

Because the world is _cruel_.

Shirogane has a stroke. Due to his high blood pressure. The doctors say. ~~_Lies._~~

The white powder residue in the vents beg to differ. ~~_Methamphetamines with a near 100% purity._~~ That could be easily created by one person in Teikou. And placed there by anyone.

He does not think further than that. _He can’t._ Because his younger siblings are dangled over his head. Suspended by six knots. One for every kid that he swore not to lose. He loosens them from the ceiling. He exchanges his kouhai for his little brother and sister.

He graduates that year. A chip is inserted into his spine. The blood running down his back cold. His little brother and sister smile at him when he gets home, blissful. He feels so _cold_. Because all it does is remind him of six other smiles. That could ~~would~~ be lost to the world because of him — so, he does the next best thing.

He gives them hope. ~~_Hope that ironically breaks them. He laughs hollowly._~~

He tells them that he will come back. That he will somehow, come for them.

It takes him three years. _He is four years too late._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo. Not a lot of time to write cuz life, mental issues, dead people and sadly-alive people. But I come bearing a chappie. Even if it's a little shorter. (Sorry. ITS FOR THE MOOD I SWEAR.)
> 
> Yes, the first group treatment was no accident. Yes, Nijimura knows and he does not tell them. Hence, the strained relationship with kouhai and senpai. Even if he is the best senpai, he is also very much human. Trying to tame half a dozen monsters. Naturally, he would be bitten and scarred for it. Even if he sincerely cares for them.
> 
> Treatments are in chronological order and the drugs are NOT random, fyi. Update is... when I get the chance. Probs next week. I dunno. Don't quote me.


	15. Interrogation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Definitions and descriptions tell all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: PTSD, Child Neglect /Abuse, Human Experimentation, Guilt, Graphic Descriptions of Blood and Violence, Scientific Jargon, and Mental Issues / Disorders.

_**Excerpt of ‘The Teikou Report’ — Last Updated on 04/01/20XX** _

_**Treatments of GB — XXX** _

_Treatment 001 (T001) — 04/01/20XX — Second Year_

All ~~five~~ six subjects are healthy, able-bodied young men aged at 13-14.

Blood test screens / panels reveal that none possess genetic predisposition for any unhealthy conditions: diabetes, high / low blood pressure, arrhythmia, certain cancers, heart disease, etc.

Height and weight are consistent in individual body groups — all vitals are normal.

Each appear to undergo differing CYPs of cytochrome P450, suggesting that they will react differently to drug-drug combinations — possible varying reactions to same drugs.

All do not appear to share any similar genetic material outside of normal human composition — MRI / CAT scans display no abnormal brain function.

***After Treatment 037 (T037), subjects were screened for genetic dispositions for mental illness.**

**Smaller hippocampus suggest predisposition for PTSD for all six subjects if exposed to trauma.**

**Disorganized attachment to parentages is observed, secure attachments are displayed between one another and former No. GBPG4 — XX as well as Head Coach Shirogane. Superiors are informed.**

*Secure attachments are removed to assess levels of mental distress at a later date as ordered.

**Action is _not_ to be repeated in any level. See Treatment 268 for details.

**Psychological Assessment of Subjects**

No. GBPG4 — **DID and PTSD** ~~ **(?)**~~ **— untreated**

*Confirmed — UNTREATED

No. GBC5 — **Regression DM — untreated**

*Confirmed — UNTREATED

No. GBPF6 — **Suppression / Denial DM — untreated**

*Confirmed — UNTREATED

No. GBSG7 — **Sublimation / Repression DM — untreated**

*Confirmed — UNTREATED

No. GBSF8 — **Pathological Lying / Repression DM /** ~~ **Mania (?)**~~ **Extreme Mood Swings — untreated**

*Confirmed — UNTREATED

No. GBP15 — **Sociopathy and PTSD** ~~ **(?)**~~ **— untreated**

*Confirmed — UNTREATED

**All symptoms were noted as per examination but were untreated and unaddressed — as ordered by higher superiors.**

**All display psychopathic symptoms — no sense of mortality outside of secure attachments, needless overkill and boldness in conduct.**

**However, do not display disinhibition, previous criminal offenses, sexual offending, or cognition.**

*Non-official, later confirmed through tapings and recordings of behavior. Psychiatrists were not allowed to speak to subjects at any level. Disorders and defense mechanisms (DM) were confirmed via consultation of a third party and video recordings.

Attached Materials

(Image of a stoic but thirteen-year-old Akashi [GBPG4XXX13], red eyes and staring coldly into the camera.)

(Image of a yawning Murasakibara [GBC5XXX13], holding an opened pack of maibou, mildly surprised at the camera.)

(Image of a smirking Aomine [GBFP6XXX13], crossing his arms and with open trust on his face.)

(Image of a frowning and clearly fourteen-year-old Midorima [GBSG7XXX14], looking at something off-camera.)

(Image of a smiling Kise [GBSF8XXX14], comfortable at the sight of the camera, unconsciously posing.)

(Image of a blank Kuroko [GBP15XXX14], staring into the camera with a dead gaze.)

Regular = Original Documentation

 **Bold** = Later Added after T037

Underline = Later Added after T268

For kids that were taken from their parents and been deemed temporary wards of the state until the attorneys were able to finalize their new guardians and lives, they didn’t look that bad. Nijimura mused to himself, nursing a cup of coffee at the station. Momoi somehow managed to grab all of their breakfast preferences this morning without touching any of them directly (thank god) before anyone could worry about being poisoned.

Two hours later — through a throng of paparazzi and a nearly stolen bag of snacks, ~~dodging a bullet there~~ — the eight of them were now at the capital’s police station. Segregated into their own rooms of interrogation. Outside of him.

His boss, a hefty man with a clear smoking problem, sighed with a growl as he silently sent a glare to his subordinate to stop referring the _clearly_ formed interrogation as such. Nijimura ignored him. He refused to refer to the blatant methods as anything else. Granted, none of his kouhai were handcuffed. But they _were_ being recorded, put into blank rooms with one-way windows that contained a single light and a table with two chairs. Even though, they were not under arrest — he saw those wary eyes on the other detectives present.

“You're not going in.” Nijimura scoffed. _No fucking shit._ He was honestly surprised they let him so close already. However, he voiced none of this as he nodded.

Squaring his feet equidistant, he looked almost comfortable as he stared into the first of the interrogation rooms. ~~~~

* * *

They proved themselves to indeed be his kouhai. ~~The little shits.~~

The detectives enter the same standard way, faces smooth and unrevealing. Seat themselves while introducing their status and name. Rights are read and stated clearly. That the boys and sole girl are _not_ under arrest. That they only wanted to talk and ask a couple of questions. That this interrogation could be ended at _anytime_.

Infuriatingly, the seven of them nod instead of voicing their consent. Before obliging _after_ asked to do so for the recording.

 ~~The brats knew that yet nodded anyway.~~ Half of him wants to smack the back of their heads and other wants to snicker with their smug little faces. He maturely snorts at their antics outside of the pane.

The interrogation begins.

"Please state your name."

They begin with the easy questions. Age. Favorite color. Food preference. Favored past time. All to get them comfortable and ease into the practice of answering questions. The colorful bunch answer them calmly and collectively. Completely sound and sane. _Yet_. There is a pressure even when they are speaking of such mundane topics. A pressure that makes the air almost stifling to breathe. Like it was a conversation with beings above their wavelength. A charisma that places all of the detectives, inside and out, in a state of unease.

Soon, those questions end and the hard ones come.

"In Teikou, did you ever receive any assistance from anyone? In any form?"

(Akashi smiles. 'Outside of advice that kept us sane ~~for a while~~ from Nijimura-senpai and Head Coach Shirogane, _no_.'

Kise's grin looks like it will rip the ends of his lips. He doesn't stop it from widening. 'They tried to lie about it _once_. They never did again.')

"In Teikou, what does XXX mean?"

('It refers to the level of danger you potentially are capable of.' Kuroko answers blankly, unfazed by the increasing trepidation of his audience. 'The level of XXX is the highest while the lowest lacks any level.')

"P-Please elaborate."

(Midorima stares at them with no small hint of condescend. ~~Brat~~. 'It is a pyramid system. With the lowest being the largest population, they are bodies that warm the benches. ~~_Fodder_~~. The subsequent levels are X and XX, with increasing potential and decreasing populations, the former is makes up a small percentage of the third-string and most of the second, the latter is requirement for first-string until XXX was created. XXX is the smallest and highest, with only seven members and made entirely of regulars and their manager.')

"What danger did they refer to?"

(Murasakibara yawns. 'To Teikou.'

Aomine smirks wolfishly. 'Who knows how to take down Teikou best, but _us?_ ')

Indeed. To the multinational, exclusively multi-conglomerate institution that was _legal_ , their greatest threat was the very future they had invested in. Ironic even, that their pet project became their downfall. ~~_Pets that grew too quickly and became uncontrollable monsters._~~

"Were you involved in the release of 'The Teikou Report'?"

(All of them say no.) _~~Technically, it wasn't a lie.~~_

"Did Teikou teach you more than just developing your basketball?"

(All of them say yes.) But do not elaborate.

Except for Kuroko. Who actually answers the follow-up question.

"Teikou is an institution, sir. And **she** taught **her** best students well."

Nijimura holds back a laugh. Kuroko is not wrong. As their school was indeed a private _institution_ of learning. It is an organization; an academy of forbidden treatments, an association of the legalized corrupt, a business for extorting parents that are paid by their children's sanity, a clinic of younglings who went insane, a foundation that digs her claws deeply in her given children, an orphanage that housed deprived souls and a genesis of six monsters.

Monsters that were adaptive enough to hide their madness under a veil of _human_. That they wouldn't have known without the reveal from one of Teikou's very own, _courtesy of yours truly_. And even then, it required the notification of these _monsters_ to have gotten that far.

It would have been difficult to stop him. But not entirely _impossible_ for the combined efforts of Akashi, Kuroko and Momoi ~~at the very least~~ to have stopped him. _The only reason it got this far was because of their lack of opposition._

Nijimura was not one to look at a gift-horse by the mouth. Hence, his opposition to _this_. He had no idea what the hell those three wanted in allowing him to do this. But he held his tongue. Because they removed tongues for lesser reasons. ~~_Individually. He suspected._~~

"Do you know who is responsible for all of this?" ~~Yes.~~

(Akashi purses his lips but answers like everyone else. ' _No_.')

"Is there anything more you can tell us as to who ' **they** ' are?" _So, they noticed how the brats referred to them as ' **they** '._

(They all stare into startled eyes, dead on. 'No.') ~~Another lie.~~

' **They** ' referred to the people who hurt them. Whether it was their parents, the board, or the orderlies. It was ingrained in his brats' minds. That **they** hurt them first, therefore, **they** were fair game. With certain restrictions.

For some reason, parents were off-limits. But orderlies were a free-for-all. While the board were a cat-mouse game.

' **She** ' referred to Teikou. As men called their steeds and loyal rides as ' **she** ', they were no different. It was a rebellion and vow of loyalty all at once. It decreed that **she** was lower than them, their pet and steed to take them away from the world's problems yet by doing so, also proclaim themselves as **her** owner and responsibility.

He accepted _his_ **mistress**.

And it seemed that his little kouhai had learned to do the same.

"Did you ever kill anyone while in Teikou?"

(All of them nod their assent. Momoi smiles.)

It is a trick question. As everyone knows that _all_ of them have blood on their hands. It is plain in the report. The matter of topic is that whether or not, it is _excusable_. There was no reason to beat around the bush. It was true. ~~And covered in red.~~

Murasakibara killed by accident the first time. _~~No, it wasn't.~~_ But that did not mean every death that followed by his hands was an _accident_. Not even remotely. Akashi murdered orderlies for implied _celebration_. Their ace snapped necks because they as much as breathed incorrectly. Kuroko and Midorima may have killed through provoked actions _officially_. But that did not mean that unofficially, they were the same. And there was a fact that none of them felt particularly _bothered_.

They did not feel this _guilt_ described by humans. They felt the sick pleasure instead. Satisfaction of giving back what they were given to **them**. 

_With no remorse. ~~And a shiver of delight.~~_

"Who did you kill?"

(Akashi raises a brow before smiling. Aomine's glazed look sharpens and he considers for a minute. Murasakibara hums thoughtfully. Kise has the audacity to laugh. Kuroko stares. Midorima huffs before biting his lip. Momoi's glossed lips widen her grin.)

"I don't remember." They answer.

"What do you not remember?"

"All of **them**." _Because **they** are gone now. And that is no lie. ~~Running the moment Teikou collapsed.~~_

"Do you know if there are anymore of 'them' left?"

(Kuroko tilts his head while Akashi shrugs, Momoi purses her smiling lips.

The others have other cues of nonchalance. But the three answer, unlike them. ' _Yes_.')

"Do you know where they are?"

(' _No._ ')

"Then how do you know that they are still out there?"

(Momoi looks at them as if they had been dropped in their infancy. 'You are truly foolish if you think that Teikou does not have agents and orderlies everywhere.')

"Then why let me release the report?" He asks them in a secure room later, when he drives them in a random direction. In the wee hours of the night. Out of that house of mics and cameras planted by yours truly. He knows that they plan to use Teikou now. "Why didn't any of you stop me?"

(He cannot read any of them. As Akashi looks at him with a tut on his lips, like a god disappointed by his creation's tomfoolery, he enlightens him. 'Nijimura-senpai. It is disparaging that we must provide _you_ with the answer. Therefore, let me ask a question of my own. _Why would we stop it?_ '

 _Because it..._ His eyes widen and his knees suddenly feel weak. _**No**. No fucking way. They wouldn't go through **all** of this... just to..._

Kuroko sees in his eyes. And nods.)

He does not sleep that night. Instead, he is alone in the kitchen, the boys and manager asleep upstairs.

There are _still_ people in white out there. And the seven of them knew that. But they did not know where they were.

But **_Teikou_** did.

They could _still_ control them. And the seven of them knew that. But had no way to counter that.

But **_Teikou_** did.

They could _not_ escape **_her_**. And the seven of them knew. They _needed_ a way to control **_her_**.

And he had it, unknowingly. _By releasing the report._

Doing that, he gave them a legitimate cause as victims with self-defense, the opportunity to consume **_her_** in the power vacuum of arrested parentage, announce to **_them_** that they were now in control of **_her_** , instilling a tendril of paranoia in all of **_them_** from being found and trialed before them by a service that owed them their due — _all from not stopping him from releasing the report._

He knew better than anyone that the seven of them would not hunt down the people in white so quickly. They would relish the hunt. Allow **_them_** to stew in their cognitive dissonance. Drive **_themselves_** mad with make-believe leads. Toying with their food. As Teikou did to him.

In his frenzy to care for his brats, he forgot along the way. _They were monsters._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. How many of you saw this coming? :D
> 
> To make up for the shorter chapter last time, here is a longer one with lots to unpack and early. There comes a time when the kouhai surpasses the senpai, and Nijimura's did it so quickly the poor man can't even wrap it around his head until hours after.
> 
> Hopefully, it's clear enough. The excerpt is the report of their very first treatment, more of a doctor's check-up with follow-up additions for over the years. Which will be TBA~ Update is... whenever. Cuz I am a procrastinating mortal that is trying to run away from my worldly problems. But it will be soon.
> 
> Oh. And thank you for everyone who commented (y'all know who ye are), left Kudos, read the story up to here (and continue on or not, your choice, bro; updates will be regardless) - I don't like to make people feel like they should do anything they don't want to, but to those who did so regardless, I just wanted to give a shout for thanks. ^^~ And if you didn't, it's okay. You are not less or anything in my eyes or anything, if you are a silent reader and enjoy it like that, then good for you. Don't feel like you have to do anything. Just reading in more than enough for me. So, read as you please and I hope my story has done its job in entertaining you. ٩(˘◡˘)۶


	16. Truth and Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The illusion falls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: PTSD, Implied Child Neglect /Abuse, Implied Human Experimentation, Implied Manipulation of Others, Graphic Descriptions of Blood and Violence and Mental Issues / Disorders.

**_The End of the Third Year - Teikou_ **

“Tetsuya.”

“Akashi-kun.” Kuroko greeted his now former captain in the comfort of a discreet location. The needle thin insertion point of his chip was still visible as Kuroko resisted the urge to run his hand down his own neck, knowing those heterochromic eyes glanced at the same on his. “Good afternoon.”

“Indeed. What do I owe the occasion to be graced with your presence, Tetsuya? After your resignation from the basketball club?” As expected of Akashi-kun. He is cold and to the point. After all, just because he submitted a resignation and it was accepted, it did not mean that he was no longer No. GBP15. ~~_If only it were that easy._~~

“I wanted to inform Akashi-kun of something.”

“Oh?” Akashi rose a brow. The last proposal was the dismissal of Haizaki. To cement their senpai’s loyalty to them. To keep him from thinking of leaving them so easily. ~~_It worked._~~ _As punishment for telling them that T037 was no accident._

“Nijimura-senpai has been quiet.” Kuroko states before elaborating. States bluntly the spy that is their senpai. How the board and their shared ~~shit~~ parents know. How **_they_** plan to play with their prey before killing it. Used him as a means to an end for _**their**_ monsters. Before trashing it in the dregs. “He is currently in the police academy.” _Unnoticed_.

Akashi does not acknowledge him outside of picking up his cup of coffee. “And?”

His phantom has not told him anything that he does not already know. Tetsuya was not one to waste his time. Not even when they were like _this_. “If Nijimura-senpai were to deliver, Akashi-kun, what would it be?”

Neither of them were disillusioned to believe that Nijimura would be able to deliver what they truly wanted. _~~The heads of those who hurt them first.~~_ It was not that they were underestimating their senpai. But merely that he was an XX. The most he could do is to manipulate his superiors to look into Teikou, or ‘bring’ it to their attention. And that is if Teikou does not catch him _first_. **_She_** was powerful, a queen built upon blood and tears of **_her_** best children, and is not easily toppled by mere inquiry of one of **_her_** many progeny.

“It will not be enough.” Akashi does not lie. Kuroko does not counter it. ~~_Because it is true._~~

But he does say something else. “ _No_. But it could be if executed at the right time.”

Akashi rises an eyebrow. Kuroko answers the unasked question. “The Kiseki no Sedai are not known beyond the middle school circle, Akashi-kun. But if we were to make our prowess known…” _To the high schools. To the world._

 _It could bring enough attention._ Akashi finished internally. But not to the point, they would dig deeper than necessary. Because like all of them, Kuroko _hated_ Teikou. But unlike the rest, Kuroko saw the usefulness in keeping Teikou. In taking **_her_** by the collar instead of choking the life out of **_her_** throat. For **_her_** to be their servant, rather than accepted mistress.

There was reason why Teikou lasted to this day, after all. Payment in full was hardly to be delivered through a treacherous XX and being known by the board; it was a matter of time before disposal really. The only reason their senpai lived was that he did not as much as _move_ , lying as silent as dead mice. Lest to attract attention was to perish in an unmarked grave. Kuroko does not dwell on whether or not, he will allow it. He knows that Akashi does not have such qualms. _~~At least, not this one.~~_

Akashi hums, his coffee cold.

A finger trails over the rim of his own cooling beverage as Kuroko continues.

“Nijimura-senpai feels guilt over his abandonment of us, Akashi-kun. Therefore, he will try to make it as advantageous to us as possible, whether consciously or not.” The phantom pauses, blank eyes as cold as the heterochromic ones that reflect it back. “Who truly knows, what was done to us, in the halls of Teikou?” **_She_** does. And they know. ~~_Even if they lie that they do not._~~

Akashi smirks, understanding. “In other words, our former captain will only find what we want him to find.” _And he shall only find those relevant to us. No point in revealing the names of all of **them**. Along with all the teachings of Teikou. ~~For there are some things that are only exclusive for XXX only, after all.~~_

Kuroko’s eyes glint with cold malice, face unchanged. “Nijimura-senpai is no longer here, after all.” ~~_He ran away. And lied._~~

The now-former basketball captain of Teikou full on laughs beside his phantom— heterochromic eyes glowing with mirth and sadistic _glee_. Yet, somehow if anyone were to look into the blank eyes of his companion, it would be his dead and cold eyes that one should truly _fear_. For they held no warmth. Only nothingness that enveloped those that dared to gaze into them.

* * *

Momoi explains why they must wait until after graduation. There are several reasons.

They are not under direct supervision afterwards even though **_they_** watch all of them closely (Chipping them was not enough. Not even Aomine-kun was careless enough to believe that that was it. All of their homes had cameras and security measures, at least. — which meant that subsequent XXs _~~Nijimura~~_ would not be. And they would be known for their basketball prowess throughout the country if they were outspread throughout, not to mention the horrid name that was bestowed upon them, as they beat team after team. ~~_Divide and conquer._~~ All while being able to see which of them was the strongest, the best of the ~~five~~ six of them.

However, the main reason was the status as high schoolers.

They would be considered young men by then. Not young children. _~~That needed protection.~~ _

Middle schoolers were still children. That were not mentally old enough to understand. Abused and fragile beings that needed to shielded. ~~_They knew that better than anyone._~~ The public would have been furious, demanding blood and justice for them. They did not need that. _They didn’t want it._

They did not want justice and blood in behalf of the public. They were _monsters_ that did not believe in the public. They were not the _children_ that they once were.

Therefore, as high schoolers, they were old enough to be considered rational, yet young enough for anyone to be horrified at the notion to be laid such abuse. The illusion of being a child was still there for the public to consume and demand some level of justice. But not enough to dig deeper than they wanted them to.

Since they had ‘ _escaped_ ’ their tormentors. ~~_There is no escape from Teikou._~~

Therefore, the seven of them go to high school, chips imbedded in their necks. Healing the scars from their torment with only one another, in the only way they know how. ~~Basketball~~. All awaiting for their senpai to fulfill his promise. To save them. To sate their years worth of bloodlust. All while aware of how the board grows unease by their rapid growth of abilities.

He delivers when they have regained what they have lost. ~~_And more._~~

He does not know how they removed all of the planted cameras from both Teikou and their senpai after they end their staged conversations. He does not know that they know that their conversations are not secure. He does not know Akashi-kun's are not only moving them out of their houses, but moving themselves over Teikou's highest echelons as well. _No one but they know._

As Kuroko watches horror and righteous anger fuel the emotions of his team and the others as they hear them recount their three years at Teikou, his face reveals none of the sick satisfaction in his belly of plans followed to a tee, they don't see it. They do not see the way that Murasakibara-kun is shaking from repressed bloodlust for too long, that he needs to shut it away. They do not see that Akashi-kun is cold because he does not entirely have Teikou under his machinations just yet and craves it with the hunger of a true monster. They do not see how Aomine-kun is taut with anticipation, like he is before a difficult game, knowing that he does not need to hold back, such thrill. They do not see how Midorima-kun is resisting to tear into his lucky item in his childish glee, tsundere nature never allowing him to smile outwardly. They do not see how Kise-kun mirrors each of their delight with relish, silently claiming each of them in his mimicking talents.

They only see victims. Victims that had suffered so much that had given up on salvation. Before being saved by a senpai that was too late. They saw wounds that been scabbed over haphazardly, surely to scar.

Instead of the reopened, gaping wounds that dripped with promised retribution in _full,_ not allowed to heal until then.

 _It was no act. Nor was their words lies._ Kuroko buttoned his collar, getting ready for a day of questions. _But at the same time, they were not the entire truth either._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sup. *waves under burial of blankets* I am doped up in cough meds and cannot breathe without the help of a nebulizer. But I'm alive and I can finally post the chapter since no one let me write. ((((*｡_｡)_
> 
> People see what they want to see, guys. Perspective is everything. (￣ω￣) And not to mention... I love it when AkaKuro scheme together, Akashi's ruthlessness with Kuroko's blunt execution. How can you not?
> 
> Next chap is when I can breathe without lugging a machine everywhere with me (I was born with defective lungs, it's amazing.) or when I can get my laptop back in my hands. Whichever comes first.


	17. Individual Treatment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A peek into the 'regular' individual treatments of the boys.  
> And then there's Kagami.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: PTSD, Implied Child Neglect /Abuse, Human Experimentation, Graphic Descriptions of Blood and Violence.
> 
> *Long note at the end, plz read the last one at least. Thank you! ⊂((・▽・))⊃

**_Excerpt of ‘The Teikou Report’ — Last Updated on 04/01/20XX_ **

**_Treatments of GB — XXX_ **

_Treatment 094 (T094) — 04/01/20XX — Second Year_

No. GBPG4 is to witness and overlook all treatments, any sign of weakness is to smothered out _immediately_.

**Subject appears apathetic. Transcript of stress hormones (adrenaline and cortisol) and bodily function indicate stress and reactionary responses that are synonymous to acute stress. Treatment is continued despite minor wounds on the subject's hands and lips from what appear to be stressed responses.**

**Possible Suppression DM — unaddressed.**

No. GBSG7 is to practice accuracy until it is satisfactory level X — with no time limitation. Failure to do so is the destruction of subject’s ‘lucky items’. When performance was not satisfactory, No. GBPG4 was placed in danger out of suggestion from subject. No. GBSG7 is not aware of this. Method is successful in consequence of one orderly. 

**1 dead, treatment was resumed with the death. Found that Oe104 batch was defective and had deteriorated. Possible cause for faulty drug interactions. None of the subjects were informed.**

**Both subjects’ displayed psychopathic symptoms — unaddressed.**

No. GBC5 is to practice suppression and activation of satisfactory level X — with no time limitation. Failure to do so is deprivation of food. It was evolved to witness how long subject was able to withstand such deprivation under moderate stress. Once again, in suggestion of No. GBPG4, the negative reinforcement suggested was carried out.

**Subject collapsed after ten hours and six minutes. Increase in stamina and food intake is suggested.**

No. GBPF6 is to practice agility and coordination in the field of bullets of satisfactory level X — with no time limitation. Failure to do so is implement of wounds. No. GBPG4 conducts loading of bullets — told which are blanks / real — all are real unless ordered otherwise.

**Subject received 1 direct hit and 7 grazes out of the 100 bullets fired. Collapsed after direct hit — after eight hours and forty-eight minutes. Increase in stamina is suggested.**

No. GBSF8 is to review plays of all other five subjects from previous matches and memorize for full copying ability to satisfactory level X — with no time limitation. Subject collapsed after eight hours and fifty-seven minutes. Subject was awakened and treatment was resumed for the followed six hours after first, with intermittent episodes of collapse following. No. GBPG4 confirmed on answers for maximum efficiency.

**Subject collapsed 13 times in total. Increase in stamina is suggested.**

No. GBP15 is to be strapped to bait on dorsal back, and is to avoid notice of 35 sharp-eyed avian genetic MOs, purposely angered with no time limitation. Subject was unnoticed for six hours and thirty-two minutes until collapse. Screams were not observed until another hour and wounds to the back were observed. No. GBPG4 was on the observatory, to assist in spotting subject.

 **Immediate skin grafts and treatments are implemented under orders. To leave no trace on the subjects. Increase in dosage of Pe407 is suggested.** ****

_Success of Treatments_

No. GBPG4 — 100%, No. GBSG7 — 85%, No. GBC5 — 78%, No. GBPF6 — 83%, No. GBSF8 — 75% and No. GBP15 — 70%

_Attached Materials_

(Image of an older stoic Akashi [GBPG4XXX14], defiant red eyes and fists by his sides as blood drips from them.)

(Image of barely conscious Murasakibara [GBC5XXX14], leaning half of his body on an unidentifiable body of white.)

(Image of a wounded Aomine [GBFP6XXX14], a dark look on his face, cuffed and gagged, despite his bandages.)

(Image of a blood-covered Midorima [GBSG7XXX15], cuffed but cold to the person behind the camera.)

(Image of a ragged Kise [GBSF8XXX15], bloodshot eyes and slumped form as he looks at the camera with a dead stare.)

(Image of a blank Kuroko [GBP15XXX15], staring into the camera unmoved, even with his lips pale and back bleeding.)

Regular = Original Documentation

 **Bold** = Added after T094

Underline = Later Added after T268

* * *

Kagami does not know what to say. And it is eating at him.

Therefore, expectedly, he has ended up at Maji Burger to eat his problems away. ~~He briefly wonders darkly if that was what Murasakibara did before scowling and scolding himself for being so callous.~~

Running a rough hand through his hair, he stomps and throws himself on his seat in Maji Burger, a heaping pile of burgers before him. He half-expects for a milkshake-drinking Kuroko to appear and greet him with a monotone voice. But the greeting does not come. He is truly alone.

For the last week, Kuroko and the rest of his friends were not at school. Their things from their respective houses moved to new residences that hardly put a dent to any of their trust funds (which all of them had in compensation, _apparently_ ) — _**They**_ would not let their monsters starve so easily, Kagami-kun. — yet, there was no sign of them. Though, Kagami couldn’t say that he wouldn’t have done the same.

Grumpily, he bit into one of them, mumbling.

“ _Domo._ ” ~~_Jesusmotherfu-_~~

Choking, it took a full three minutes for him to fully register that Kuroko was indeed, seated across from him, drinking a milkshake. “ _The fuck, Kuroko?!_ ”

“I greeted you when I came, Kagami-kun. You did not notice, even after I had went to purchase my milkshake after you.” Kuroko replied, not at all fazed by the light’s outburst. “I had assumed that you wanted to speak to me in private rather with our entire team.” ~~_Like Aomine-kun._~~

Grumbling but not protesting, he met his shadow’s stare. “Why didn’t you say anything?” _He was not one to dwell for too long after all._

Kuroko pauses, removing his lips from the straw. “It is not my story to tell, Kagami-kun. It is mine and six others. I, alone, do not have the authority to tell you that my middle school friends and I were experimented on because of our own parents. And if I were to, would you have believed me so easily?” _True_. He would have thought that the smaller boy would have been off his rocker. ~~More than he already was, at least.~~

“Then, if that report was not released, would you have said anything?” ~~To me.~~

“ _No._ ” Kuroko silences him with a look, reading him easily. “My reasons remain, Kagami-kun, I promise you that it is not your fault that you were not told. You are still my light and I am your shadow, our bond on the court unchanged. You did not need to know the details of how I became a shadow for you to be my light.”

Having no retort, Kagami bit his tongue on the insistent part of his brain that was curious for answers, as Kuroko did not press him for answers in regards to Tatsuya and his complicated relationship there until he revealed it with his own lips. It was only right he did them and waited until Kuroko was ready. Granted, his story was not of such great magnitude of impact upon the psyche relatively speaking ( _At. All._ ), but the point was, that the story was _personal_ and if not relevant, he probably would have never told his shadow about it. Therefore, Kuroko had a right to not speak about his own story too. But the insistent part of himself urged to _at least_ reach out. ~~Even if Kuroko was not.~~

“Just try to be _okay_ , alright?” Kagami sighed, throwing his shadow one of his burgers, eyes glaring. “You’re my shadow. And most definitely not some kind of belonging to Teikou. _You’re more than that._ If the rest of the world can’t see that, then that’s _their_ loss.”

Stunned, Kuroko watched as his light coughed, embarrassed but not taking back his words, stuffing his face to avoid conversation. Smiling softly, he unwrapped his own burger and ate. _Thank you, Kagami-kun._

Several hours later, Kuroko enters his new home, smelling the scent of miso stock in the air. There is a meal laid out for him with a note from his grandmother, who he had greeted with soft words and polite blankness upon reunion, nothing like the grandson she had left. Outside of his inherited low presence and cute appearance even when blank-faced, he did not laugh nor smile as easily as he did when he was the child she recalled. But she still cried as she hugged him, holding his hands in her wrinkled ones with a soft smile and words of gratitude on her lips. Even if she knew he was no longer human. ~~Even when she knew he was a monster.~~

He recalls his first proper conversation with her after the interviews as he eats.

“Tetsuya-kun?”

“Oba-chan.” He greets, bowing. She is seated on an armchair in the living room while he is seated at the couch, book on his lap now off to the side and cup of tea cooling by the nearby coffee table. “Is there something wrong?”

“No. I merely wanted to speak to you about something.”

He nods, waiting. ~~He knows this conversation was coming after all.~~

“What will you do with **_them_** _?_ ” His grandmother refers to the people in white. _She knows._ Having seen her grandson come home in tears with a bleeding back, with her daughter-in-law cooing him in his little ear — _You will be so loved, Tetsuya-kun. So loved. Because of how useful you are. So loved._ — _She knew._ That being the reason she did not have the right to see her only grandchild after his fifth birthday. She learned.

“I do not know.” Kuroko replies. Technically, he does not lie.

“Revenge does not give the victim anything, Tetsuya.” She is not convinced. ~~Wise of her.~~

But he agrees. Revenge does not give them anything. It does not give them their humanity back. It does not take the chip out of their necks. It does not remove the drugs from their bodies nor the trauma of the minds. It does not give them the satisfaction even if they tore out **_their_** throats themselves. _Even if they were kept up many nights, thinking if they did, would it soothe the dreams away?_

She continues. “The act of others doing a wrong, does not give you the right to conduct a wrong in retaliation.”

This is true. Kuroko concedes. After all, he had forgiven his friends. Despite what they did to break his childhood friend, he did not act against them. He did not break them back. ~~He couldn’t break something that was already broken, after all.~~ But at the same time… Ogiwara-kun was a figment of his past. A fond one, perhaps, that led to his love for basketball that he would be _forever_ grateful for — but he was _far_ from being valued at level of his Teikou team. That was why he was able to summon the forgiveness, he proposed.

_~~To do the same to the people in white was something he found impossible.~~ _

He asks. “Then, what do I do, Oba-chan?” _Like he is a lost child. ~~He's not.~~_

“Live as you wish to. Do not let them steal anymore from you."

Like the filial grandson he is, he nods. “Yes, Oba-chan.”

He returns to his room, after cleaning his dishes, in front of a laptop with a single window open. He is a filial grandson. He does not let the teachings of the elder go unheard. He does not forgive them. He does not kill them. He lives as he wishes and does not allow them to steal anymore from him and his friends. ~~By pulling the strings of Teikou with his former team.~~

Because as much as he is a filial grandson, he is also his mother's son.

He glances at the clock. _04:00:59 A.M._

He presses a key. And holds it for a full minute before releasing it. _04/01_

He goes to bed, full aware that what he wanted was no revenge. _But retribution._

His grandmother does not say anything the next morning, when the news broadcast airs a report of men and women in Kyoto, who woke up this morning to find themselves paralyzed, for no observable medical reason. She does not say anything on how they are all people in white, former and current. She does not say anything because the look in her eyes is enough. She knows better than to say anything. For she learned, long ago.

 ~~Her grandson was no human.~~ _After all, her advice was such a human thing to do._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have arisen from the flu. *rises head centimeters from pillow* (๑-﹏-๑) Not really. I managed to get my little bro to give me my laptop now that I can breathe on my own. Can't write on my phone or iPad cuz I old school as shit. 
> 
> Any who, the excerpt this time is a 'regular' treatment that the boys go through intermittently between specific ones like the first one, the group treatment, and the unspoken T268. Plus Kagami! He is a fav of mine don't get me wrong, but this is a GOM-centric fic so... he appears a little bit-ish.
> 
> So, here (and last chapter) we get a bit of a window into Kuroko's (and the rest of GOM) psyche - they are fucked up. They do not trust anyone in the same level as they do each other. Even when they were estranged after their third year, they still implicitly trust one another - yes, they care for their new teams and everything; but they can't. They can't. No matter how much they try. They see things as them, the people in white, and everyone else. That's it.
> 
> Personally, in reading the fics that portray hurt characters that need comfort and all of that (not that I am implying that they are poorly written, wrong, or even out of character), I just want to say that there are different reactions to trauma. GOM may have a different one than what is written here, but that is what I have chosen for it because I see them being mentally able to do so. Having been through some level of trauma myself (although it was not to this level, obvs.), instead of breaking down mentally and crying myself to sleep (not that there is anything wrong with that) or listening to people who told me to get myself out of that situation (again nothing wrong, plz be safe at all times) - I fought back for my autonomy, with all my anger for how wronged I was. I would be lying if I said I didn't cry or felt like running away in that duration but that was my reaction. And it was very real and not limited to me alone. So, if any of you are not comfortable with what was written or for whatever reason, I do not mind. Because I get it. It's not your cup of tea. And I hope you can find yours soon. （‐＾▽＾‐)  
> Everyone else who is here... next chap is when I feel remotely alive.


	18. Mentors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Those who teach, and those who learn from them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: PTSD, Implied Child Neglect /Abuse, Human Experimentation, Manipulation and Implied Mental Issues.

Nijimura absorbs his conclusion in silence. Only for a bark of his hysteric laughter to take him by surprise. He was used. ~~Again~~. He was used by _his_ brats.

Anger does not describe him. Instead, he feels numb.

The brats he fought so hard to save… it was not like they _needed_ him to save themselves… ~~they really didn't~~ … but they let him anyway. Whether it was to assuage his guilt or to atone, he did not know. ~~And had a feeling that he did not want to.~~

He decides to stop thinking. Heeding his **_mistress_** as _**she**_ coos him to sleep. To serve the new Teikou. They didn’t kill him after all. He was not naive enough to believe that they were still ignorant to his lies.

 _He lied to them._ And he was still alive. Whole. _Breathing_.

That was more than any of their victims could ever been bestowed.

(‘Let me teach me you all something.’ A younger Nijimura tells to the gaggle of near tearful kids, seven in total. They were _his_ boys. They were just boys, _god fucking dammit_. They look up at him with wide, innocent eyes. _~~So trusting.~~_ ‘ ** _They_** hurt you first. **_They_** are the ones who are wrong. It is _fine_ to… hurt **_them_** back. Because **_they_** hurt you first. Only if **_they_** hurt you first.’)

_And he hurt them first._

* * *

Kise twirls a pen, seated at his desk after bidding his sisters a good night. His sisters were constantly hovering now, asking him how he felt and making sure that he is fed at all times — it is overbearing but sweet in their own way. They had yet to ask him to return to school but he would be stupid to think that they would hold it mute forever. He wanted to return, without a doubt, but with his team walking on eggshells around him and all of them…

A ping takes him from his thoughts. He turns to his screen to see an invitation for a group video chat from Akashi. He accepts. One does not simply _refuse_ the emperor.

“Hello?”

“Ah, good evening, Ryota.” Akashicchi nods. Like himself, he is dressed comfortably in home clothes with a blanket over his shoulders, surroundings dimly lit. “Give the others some time to join us.”

True to his words, the others soon are online and facing him in similar states. All of them are still in Tokyo, for the pending investigation and trial, Murasakibara and Akashi staying at temporary locations with their guardians. Nijimura-senpai has not changed their interactions after the first night of questioning, which speaks to more than if he did. It was acknowledgement of a man who knew his place, he knew that they used him as punishment and he knew that it was his past actions that allowed him the freedom he had. It changed nothing of how he cared for them.

Greeting everyone happily (before being _cruelly_ ignored), the discussion began, with the most challenging topic.

“Teikou is being divided into six divisions.” Akashicchi announces, papers set aside on his bed. An unseen person hands him a cup of steaming tea. “Tetsuya, Momoi and I have decided which one that we each will be responsible for. Momoi will run a subdivision along with us that will serve as a check-and-balance with that person at the helm.”

“What divisions?” Midorimacchi questioned immediately, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Every subunit field that Teikou controls.” Kurokocchi replies. “We will most likely be in charge of whatever field of study or career we choose, along with any subunit along with it.”

“Eh?” Murasakibaracchi hummed. “How does Kuro-chin know what we want to do in the future?”

“He doesn’t have to.” Aominecchi huffs. “As if Teikou doesn’t have **_her_** claws everywhere.”

“Surprisingly enough, _correct_ , Daiki.” Akashicchi chuckles with a smirk at Aomine’s yell, ignored. “But I have a general idea that I will allow all of you to come to a conclusion with yourselves. For now, the divisions will be divided in accordance…”

Kise rose a brow at his assigned status. Then again, he was no ordinary high schooler — now, in charge of all matters international, _underground_ or not. As the Kiseki that spoke the most languages, though, Akashicchi was equally knowledgable as he lacked an accent while he had a subtle French one from his mother; it was only practical. This also meant he was the de-facto leader of the global trades, ambassador and embassies relations and the status of the brass to be favorable to their Teikou.

_What a pain._

Kurokocchi was given the hardest division of all, however, hidden in the shadows. But it was where he was the most comfortable and Kise has long ago stopped thinking that the phantom did not have a plan. It could be argued that the elusive shadow had more back-up plans than their esteemed leader. If Kise were honest, it was the undying loyalty and kindness of the phantom for their team _only_ , cemented the fact that Kurokocchi would not hurt them.

The secrets Kurokocchi _knew_ … if he put his mind to it… Kise would not be surprised if he brought the world to their knees _unknowingly_. Terrified, _yes_. But not at all surprised.

Just like how they each saw how dependent Seiren was on their shadow. If not for the phantom, Seiren would have never made it to the Inter-High, much less the Winter Cup. And Kagami would have become the very Kiseki that they all portrayed themselves to be, the very thing he now _hates_. Kurokocchi had all of them wrapped all around his little finger. To their ignorance.

Yes, it was not as if his mentor was acting. But it was not that he wasn’t using them for a means to an end _neither_. If they did not meet to his standards, he had no doubt that the shadow would have dropped the team without a second glance. Disappearing was his field of expertise. It would have been mere child's play.

Kagami Taiga was the deal breaker. _For what was a shadow without a light?_

However, instead of the brutality of Teikou’s training, the phantom somehow did the impossible and nurtured a new light to be on equal footing to his former team. But Kise and the others saw it for what it _actually_ was. Kurokocchi had no idea _how_ to. Only that the Teikou way was _not_ it. Which arrived the problem of how? ~~_How did you create something that was equal to Teikou's monsters without doing it the Teikou way?_~~

Which was why he chose Seiren. _They_ knew. _They_ knew how to teach this immature ember to turn into a raging inferno, evolving with every victory and defeat.

All by pulling his team with puppet strings in the background.

True to his abilities, the puppets did not see their strings. Even after they had served their purpose, they still moved to them so predictably. ~~Lifeless dolls to their master's whim.~~

 _A team._ Kise thought as the faces of Kaijo flashed over his face. _What a joke. ~~Was it?~~_

* * *

That same night Nijimura has his revelation, an aged man awakens, IV in the back of his hand and monitors beeping softly in the background. Visiting hours had long gone yet the door to his guarded room opens with little opposition, to reveal a face that he had not seen for a few years now. Haggard but clearly older than those bright grey eyes from long ago, he takes in Nijimura with silence.

The young man does the same. He notices his hair is all white now. He notices how he still has the same soft smile for all of his regulars, former and current. He notices that the handcuff on his wrist has not bruised or even irritated his skin at the very least — he did not fight when he was arrested in his hospital ward. The very same that they only allowed two nurses and one doctor through the two gentlemen they called officers posted outside his room. Yet, _they_ were still able to send something.

Yesterday morning, by his bedside table, rested a photograph. Dated this year on January 31st, it displayed seven children he personally failed.

‘ **Shirogane-kantoku. Please be aware of your health.** ’

It was a clear message. The seven of them held Teikou. ( _Because how else did they get the photo in here?_ ) The seven of them did not blame him for leaving. ( _Because he was still alive._ ) The seven of them would not allow him to be jailed. ( _Because how could he be aware of his health behind bars?_ ) The seven of them still saw him as their coach. ( _Because he was still called that in spite of being relieved of that years ago._ )

“It has been a while. Nijimura-kun.”

The young man grunts his greeting, glancing on the unmoved photograph of smiling kouhai. “So, the brats sent you a notice.”

“Considerate of them.” Shirogane nods. “I believe they learned their manners from you, always by their side.”

Nijimura looked away. “Not _always_.”

“And you have paid in full for it.”

Nijimura scoffs softly. _Of course, he saw it._ “Then, you know?”

A sliver of the man’s gaze peeked from hidden eyes was enough of an answer. It shouldn’t surprise him. This was the man that the seven of them regarded as their coach. In more ways than simply _just_ basketball.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nijimura knows his place and operates in the range given to him. Smart man. Just like Shirogane, who too, knows his place very well. And through Kise, we learn just exactly why Seiren was so essential to Kuroko and that the six of them may care for their new teams more than they think. Σ(ノ°▽°)ノ
> 
> I am basically all better now. o(^▽^)o But a huge papaya fell on my foot when I was giving my mom a hand, so I am still stuck in bed for a few days. (ﾉ･д･)ﾉ So, next update is probs next week unless anymore fruit try to kill me.


	19. Enough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Questions are asked. And try to be answered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: PTSD, Child Neglect / Abuse, Human Experimentation, Trauma, and Descriptions of Violence and Blood

**_Excerpt of ‘The Teikou Report’ — Last Updated on 04/01/20XX_ **

**_Treatments of GB — XXX_ **

_Treatment 142 (T142) — 04/01/20XX — Second Year_

All subjects are placed in the same treatment to assess pain tolerance.

*Suggestion was made after limitations of KNS/GOM physical bodies were prompted. Abilities are not suited in the bodies of young adolescents — therefore, abilities deemed above XX are inhibited and suppressed in interest in keeping subjects viable. Implemented.

Tested based on levels of electrocution and mechanical pressure — each are rated from a level of 1-5 in terms of endurance and then added for the total score. Electrocution is delivered through electrode attached to subjects.

Electrocution levels are of the following: 1-10 V = 1, 10-50 V = 2, 50-100 V = 3, 100-150 V = 4, 150-200 V = 5.

Mechanical pressure levels are of a subjective level for each subject based on neurological network. Both A-delta and C-fibers are in working order for all subjects as well as nociceptors — all six are able to feel all levels of pain: acute, sharp and dull throbbing.

Subjects are blindfolded and strapped to a chair, screwed into the flooring with reinforcements. Ears plugged and mouths gagged but with proper intubation for breathing, subjects are not given paralytics to gauge physical reaction — kept awake and aware during entire treatment.

Treatment is conducted in their respective rooms.

No. GBPG4 — **09**

**Subject did not scream nor yell during four hour treatment. Was resuscitated after final 200 V. Killed four orderlies before treatment was resumed. Subject was blindfolded throughout the entire treatment.**

**Mild twitching was expressed with maximum pressure on fingertips.**

No. GBSG7 — **08**

**Subject expressed winced sounds when volts grew to 140 V, and began to spasm at any higher voltage. Two orderlies were killed after refusing to allow ‘lucky item’ to be by subject before the treatment began.**

**Subject bit through lip muscle into blood at the second-highest level of mechanical pressure.**

No. GBC5 — **07**

**Subject expressed whimpers when volts grew to 96 V, and began to break out of chains when the voltage was increased. Five orderlies sustained injuries — concussions, broken bones and internal damage from trying to restrain subject.**

**Subject did not move in response to highest level of mechanical pressure.**

No. GBPF6 — **08**

**Subject expressed grunts of pain when volts grew to 148 V, and began to resist at higher voltage. Six orderlies sustained injuries — concussions, broken bones and internal damage from trying to restrain subject.**

**Subject shifted in response to second highest level of mechanical pressure.**

No. GBSF8 — **07**

**Subject expressed cries of pain when volts grew to 90 V, crying when the voltage grew past 100 V tearing at restraints. Three orderlies were given minor injuries for trying to stop subject — near fatal blows to jugular and internal damage.**

**Subject moved in response to second highest level of mechanical pressure.**

No. GBP15 — **10**

**Subject did not move nor make any sound even after 200 V treatment of four hours. Heart was resuscitated four times. Subject was checked for paralysis. None was found.**

**Subject did not move in response to any level of mechanical pressure.** ****

_Attached Materials_

(Image of a blindfolded Akashi [GBPG4XXX14], relaxed outside a faint twitch of his cheek.)

(Image of a blindfolded Murasakibara [GBC5XXX14], slumped and strapped in the chair, breathing labored.)

(Image of a blindfolded Aomine [GBFP6XXX14], bound most extensively, as he snarls at white-gloved hands.)

(Image of a blindfolded Midorima [GBSG7XXX15], lips gnawed raw and cheeks stained with tear tracks.)

(Image of a blindfolded Kise, limp [GBSF8XXX15], with wrists raw and tear tracks barely seen under the glean of sweat.)

(Image of a blindfolded Kuroko [GBP15XXX15], unmoved and cold, barely upright.)

Regular = Original Documentation

 **Bold** = Added after T142

Underline = Later Added after T268

* * *

**_End of Third Year of Teikou_ **

“It’s not enough.” Kise vehemently agreed with such a sentiment from his seat at the vanity table internally, as he took in his reflection before doing the same with the rest of the room. The other five occupants were outspread in the seedy hotel room, the daylight peeking behind the pulled curtains. Akashicchi was seated casually on one of the chairs beside the rickety table, legs crossed with heterochromic eyes as hypnotizing as ever with a disapproving Midorimacchi across from him, eyeing at the floor with a curl of his lip. Aominecchi lounged on the bed, outstretched with a yawn while Murasakibaracchi was on the other side of the room with him, raiding the provided snacks. Kurokocchi was perched on a corner of the bed, all of them dressed casually as to-be high school students. _~~Ha.~~_

Aominecchi was the one who voiced his opinion after Akashicchi explains the shared brain child of him, their phantom and manager. It is times such as these he truly understands the utter fear of them at the seven of them. He coos softly at his rising bloodlust, honeyed words sweet and delectable.

He is not subtle. If the glance from Kurokocchi’s reflection is any indication. But Kise merely flashes him a cheeky grin. He is forgiven. ~~_As always._~~

“No. It isn’t.” Well, then. This was a surprise. All of them turn to the back of Murasakibara, who did not pause from his raiding of the snack bar, continuing. “But what exactly _would_ be enough, Mine-chin?”

Trauma was relative. One person’s suffering does not equate another’s just because they had been through the same thing. Pain is not even that easily determined in the _scientific_ level as the perception and sensation of the negative feeling was _subjective_ to the person, organism even. However, if there was anything to be certain and without relativeness, was that the permanent paralysis of the people in white was not equal to their three years of care and subsequent consequences. ~~_Not even close._~~

But that goes back to the fundamental question. _What exactly was enough?_

Kise feels his blood heat under killing intent. _He does not know._ All he knows is that he is angry. And wants to watch them receive their comeuppance. By their hands.

The same is reflected in those multicolored gazes.

“Since this question alludes us,” Akashicchi begins, lips pursed. “It is only proper that we _experiment_ to find the answer ourselves. As to what would be enough.” ~~_To sate us._~~

Kuroko folds his hands and _sees_ the blood on them. ~~_It isn't enough._~~

The beginnings of an answer are found a year later. Technically, the moment when Teikou’s board members were all arrested and in custody — Momoi, more than just a terrifying basketball manager, had done her title justice — quickly making her way into the remote system that controlled the flow of information and records of the chip in every Teikou students' necks.

It was called the System.

Every student was chipped. A leash. A reminder from whence they came. Where they always belonged. Who was still watching them. As long as it was in them. It could never be removed unless they wished to be a vegetable. And to every student, a vegetative state was equivalent to a prolonged death sentence. ~~_They were not merciful enough to remove the cord if you tried._~~

It was simple.

A single application that opened to only four windows — lists of the people in white, former students of Teikou, current students of Teikou and finally, them. A picture came up along with the personal file of every individual when clicked, giving the viewer more information than anyone is ever privileged to have in any lifetime from any individual's personal account. Concurrent with time was a flow of information of whereabouts, health and psychological status. And how to make them suffer with the push of a button.

But as far as similarities, they ended there.

The list for the people of white was the largest of the four, listing the deceased or former members in one subcategory and current ones in another. Within the former, they were further divided into colored tags — one for every confirmed kill by their creations. Momoi made no acknowledgement of the multicolored list, clicking away to the current members — magenta eyes narrowing at the list.

Levels of stress had been risen. So, **they** knew that **their** superiors were gone.

No matter. Even they did not know how to remove these chips without seriously injuring themselves — how could anything less compare?

 _It was so easy._ Momoi pondered, gaze affixed to the only laptop that had the hardware for this application.

With a single push of her delicate phalanges, all of the people in white could be _gone_. Those **bastards** would never be able to manipulate her again. Physically, **they** knew **they** could not hurt her. But that did not mean **they** did not.

Making her come in as a person in white to spend more time with Dai-chan. Asking her to inject the last of the drug into Akashi-kun in exchange for food for Mukkun. Offering her a choice to calm down Ki-chan in exchange for Midorin to have his lucky item when they were trying to be excessively cruel. No matter how much she did, sometimes they would not even let her in through the doors. Not even when she threw aside her pride and knelt.

Her monsters were caged.

Yet, they tried to comfort her. ~~Her who was free.~~

Dai-chan never told her how much the bullets hurt or what they did to him, even though he knew that she knew. Instead, he acted like he was himself. As if they were at the rooftop, high school students, a player and his manager. ~~It shattered every time one of **them** came to remove her.~~ Akashi-kun thanked her every time she administered anything, like she had brought him a well-written report or a pack of freshly laundered towels, kindly. Even after he _changed_ , he knew. He knew that she was trying to help them. ~~By hurting himself because of **them**.~~ Ki-chan could never hurt her, even in his most delirious state. ~~**They** knew it.~~ And often times, she was thrown in with the blonde monster, arms hugging as he screamed so loudly her ears rang for hours. She endures it, while cracking underneath. Midorin and Mukkun would see her red eyes, and silently, hold her in their own ways — holding her hand with a soft but firm grip; a gentle pat of her growing hair, to assure that everything would _somehow_ be okay. ~~Even when **they** never gave them their promised food and lucky items.~~

Those _**bastards**_ … witnessed it all.

They never let her see Tetsu-kun. In hindsight, it was a wise move on their part. Momoi knew that if she was allowed in, Teikou would have been in their hands much sooner. ~~_She does not know if that is a good or bad thing._~~

She removes her fingers from the keys. And returns to the mouse.

A fond smile curls her lips as a particular part of the report catches her eye.

Her most happy memory of middle school. She laughs airily as her cursor lingers over the thickest treatment file of the Kiseki no Sedai.

_Treatment 268 (T268) — 01/31/20XX — Third Year_

_The Crimson Storm — **INTERRUPTED, NEVER TO RESUME**_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of background of what Kuroko did to paralyze the people in white. And the Kiseki's thought process as they are trying to figure what is enough for them to say that they have received their revenge. Plus Momoi's personal hell under the people in white even when she was outside of them.
> 
> Chapter is short for the build up for T268 - an incident that has been hinted at a bit here and there. Next chapter is... next week, probably. Maybe. Life BS is catching up with me. So, we'll see. But at least no more fruit is trying to actively kill me.


	20. Lady Justice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trial of justice is conducted before the gods, but are they truly the ones who can decide the consequences of mortals?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: PTSD, Human Experimentation, Mental Disorders, Trauma, Child Neglect / Abuse, Descriptions of Graphic Violence and Blood

Shirogane was questioned the following morning, nursing a cup of tea once all of the officers had situated themselves. Pads out for notes and recorders on, the detectives stated their names and his, ready to begin.

“Shirogane-san, can you please tell us what happened four years ago?”

“Four years ago, seven exceptional young men and woman joined my basketball team…” Shirogane began, recounting the years and how powerless he as the Head Coach was. How any authority worth its badge was infiltrated by Teikou. Every government that would have cared had the claws of Teikou embedded. How his every attempt to free his students only hurt them more, taking his time with them little by little.

Eventually, the elephant in the room was addressed.

“Do you know what happened to your health?”

Shirogane rose an eyebrow, but composure intact. “Myocardial infractions are convenient. The cause can be anything, with the most common of medications, any rush of adrenaline. But for my own, I was informed that it was due to stress and old age.”

“However?” The officer pressed.

“I have no evidence.” Shirogane replied with a small shrug. Though it would be foolish to think that those children do not. “But it would be too convenient of an event to be isolated. For there are no accidents within the halls of Teikou.”

One of the officers knows this all too well. He knows Shirogane knows who he is. As does Nijimura. He is a part of the System that they speak of. Unable to do much outside of obeying their mistress. But… _**they**_ weren't in control now. They controlled their mistress now. And the school had been shut down. It was not like they could take every person who attended Teikou into questioning — the alumni of the school spanned generations and then there was the positions of those individuals to factor.

Teikou only accepted the best.

It would the ruin of several businesses and a majority of the government as a whole — no, the whole of it, not to mention economic, political, and social repercussions.

His phone pinged, opening an app that he had only seen once. It was blue and white and had only one word on it — victory. _So, it had come._

* * *

No one knows how it is resolved.

Kantoku doesn’t. His captain doesn’t. The police don't. Not _all_ of them. And least of all, himself. But they know. Nijimura knows. So does that Shirogane-kantoku. And like his shadow, the ones who do know, will not say a word.

Kagami, like the rest of the world, thinks that it is karma when some of those people in white are paralyzed. Some of them are charged. Some of them are jailed and sentenced for years. All of the teams with a Kiseki feel a sick sense of satisfaction when the case of the people in white is closed with very decisive _guilty_ on the Kiseki parents and the board of Teikou a month after all of this happens.

Kuroko and his former team returns to school. And subsequently, basketball. It takes them a while and a bit of awkward conversation, but a pun from Izuki-senpai and a bland jab to his lack of delicacy of this type of thing, everything seems back to normal.

But then it occurs to Kagami. Of how _convenient_ it is.

How quickly the police seemed to close the case. How the judge was able to deliver the sentencing from a jury that convened for a mere ten minutes. How easily it was to get the case in the court in the first place. How the investigators quickly established that all of the people in white were trialed, charged and sentenced.

It all happened in one month. No justice system was _that_ efficient. _~~Unless there was no justice in the first place.~~_

Kagami sees more after this revelation as he realizes that he can't be the only one who sees it.

What terrifies him more is that the Kiseki no Sedai didn't _do_ anything. Everyone merely keeps this to themselves, while Kuroko and his continue in their illusion. _~~If they do not acknowledge it, who has the balls to?~~_

He sees the small indents in Kuroko’s palms, half-moon crescents red and raw. He sees the glint of _something_ in those blank eyes. He sees the faint glow of blue just under the collarbone, branded underneath the skin. He sees the scars that have carved his shadow, skin unblemished but soul deep.

But he is still his shadow.

Kuroko still drinks milkshakes. He still keeps that demonic dog to torture him so. He still can’t cook outside of a boiled egg. He still sucks at everything but passing. He still is deadpan in his tone. _He still is by his side._

“Kagami-kun?”

He has half a mind to bombard the ~~_same_~~ shadow with his questions — Is it really over? _Are you okay, Kuroko?_ Were all of the people in white _really_ captured by the police so easily? Why and _how_ was this case closed so quickly? _What_ … What really happened to the people in white? And what about Teikou itself? Wasn’t it a conglomerate powerhouse within itself? ~~_What happened in that month?_~~ — but he holds his tongue.

Not because he is afraid. Not because Kuroko will probably not answer. But because he promised. He does not press until Kuroko will tell him. He may be dead before that happens but… he does not mind.

Because the other half of his mind is screaming at him to leave the sleeping dragon be.

As Kagami shakes his head at his prompting, Kuroko texts to Akashi-kun that his team is adequately pacified in his pocket, his gaze unmoved from his team’s antics. His light may not have been the _brightest_ , but he was not stupid. Tigers had such primal instincts that were not so different from monsters, after all.

* * *

Nijimura exhales a breath of smoke, his cigarette burning at the edges of his fingers, as he notes the morning sun.

It is a beautiful day. Perfect for spending it in an ostentatious and over glorified building that supposedly dealt out justice. The goddess herself leers over it all, blind as she holds her scale and a blade, tome of law underfoot.

Was it so easily to decide the sins of a man?

She is blind, a symbol of how prejudice has no standing, yet he knows that the judge and jurors are human. They are mortals with desires and needs. She is a goddess, blind to prejudice, does that also make her blind to human nature? Worse, _blind_ to whom she was truly striking down in the name of justice?

For humans are _prejudice_. They hold _pride_. They hold themselves above all others in an act of self-preservation. Did the gods not know that when they created them? _How flawed they were?_

Sighing, he cuts off the thought process before it can escalate further.

After all, there were no gods in Teikou.

He enters the courthouse. It is a reunion of Teikou.

All seven of his brats are there with their manager. Shirogane is there. Even Sanada. The media are outside, ravenous for scraps. And the government is watching closely.

Even if they could not touch. Nijimura reported to his brats of their more than generous interest on them and his words were waved aside from _Aomine_ of all people and said that he had handled it. He tries to not think how many people they needed to threaten convince. The ace was generous enough to yield them the right to watch ~~for them slip up.~~

The trial for his brats begin.

Their statements are played first after the case is presented. The jury is understandably paler after each one is played, one poor soul even going as far as going green enough to prompt an early recess. His brats are carefully tense, ignoring the darkening expression of a guilty Haizaki that would never admit to such an emotion, while the judge’s face is cold, eyes burning with righteous fury.

His, Shirogane and Sanada’s testimonies are next — reported in official interview tapes, dismissing any hope for any plea of delusions and schizophrenia. ~~_If only escape was so simple._~~

When the issue of Shirogane’s heart attack is prompted in his testimony, all eyes turn to Murasakibara when his past self mentions the remains of drug but the other brats, including Haizaki, glare right back at them. _Daring them to suggest it._

Kuroko’s blank gaze pressures the judge to return to the testimony.

Finally, they come to the report.

The treatments are discussed by highlights — T001 to the last scheduled T385 that did not happen.

T001 is almost unbearable to see.

Photos of six children who had no idea what they were getting into, make him more nauseous than any flu can.

Akashi, monochrome and whole as he stares down the camera in his thirteen self, is only recognizable by his enhanced and dominating charisma as his future self looms at the middle of the front row. 

Murasakibara, carefree and almost… _lively_ in comparison to the dull-eyed and dazed position on the defense, languidly licking at a lollipop at the far end of the row, beside Haizaki.

The most striking is, as always, Aomine, happy and trusting grin that was torn away to be the raw and monstrous dark-skinned youth that scowled more than anything, placated by the shadow before him.

In the likeness of Midorima, the only thing that differs is that the youth is childish and innocent, as he merely pouts at the separation of his lucky item while his future self grips the potted herb with an obsessive hold, hiding the cold fingers of the blonde.

Kise, naturally is handsomer and more of a Adonis in his older version as the youth in the picture does not have the years of trauma in those golden eyes nor the sharp edges of his all too false smile pointed at them, unyielding.

The only one that seemed to merely lose baby fat and grown taller is Kuroko, but his audience knew better, that this child may have suffered through pain beyond their imagination without complaint.

T037 is filled with guilt and what they are here for.

Just how many his brats had managed to stain their hands with. Haizaki looks paler than he had ever seen, as if just realizing just what he had managed to get out of. Everyone but his six brats and their manager seems to flinch when that stupid orderly that oversteps in an authorized zone that is normally off-limits. ~~_By the superiors._~~

Murasakibara is the one who breaks it ~~and the man~~ , and everyone knows it is an accident.

But that is not important.

What _is_ , is that Akashi manages to paralyze _seventeen_ people, place _twelve_ of them in a coma and _six_ unconscious before he is taken down with three others that he manages only to knock out with him. Aomine cripples and paralyzes _sixteen_ , _two_ comatose and _thirteen_ unconscious while Kise manages with only _four_. ~~Only four, ** _they_** say.~~ Like it is a small number of people for a young teenager to knock out in the span of a few minutes.

Murasakibara is the only one who kills the one that starts it all. Midorima and Kuroko don't hurt anyone, but the latter manages to shake them.

When questioned, Kuroko obliges. He informs them that he stated each of the orderlies by their full names, families, addresses and what they feared the most. ~~Implying that he knew all of this all out of mere observation.~~

Shivers grip his spine when he remembers that Kuroko and Momoi had no communication with one another within those walls. _Misdirection. What a terrifying power, indeed._

T094 is met with stunned silence.

It is one thing to read of torture from the words of detached scientists.

It is _another_ to see the literal blood of those too-young hands of Akashi, the obvious malnutrition of a fourteen-year-old Murasakibara that was too feeble to even hold himself up for a photo, the restrained Aomine who glares with a near feral snarl clearly out of it due to his leaking wounds, a cold Midorima who appears to be almost detached to sheer amount of blood on him like he had resigned to his fate at the age of fifteen, an exhausted Kise that is waterlogged with dark bags under bloodshot eyes that looked like he had fallen asleep standing with his eyes open and finally, a blank Kuroko who should have been screaming in pain at the utter ragged remains of his back.

Nijimura nearly breaks the wooden seat under him as he spots glints of sorrow, anger and regret in each of his brats’ eyes at each others’ pain. Even if they were monsters, they didn’t deserve _this_. _His brats never deserved any of this._

T142 is mocking, as the world often does.

Like Lady Justice, his brats are blinded, lacking in prejudice as they are dealt with their verdict.

The electricity that runs through them and the pressure that crushes their limbs do not know that they punishing the innocent. Only that they are wielded by the one that claims themselves to be above mortal, a goddess above the flawed beings of their creation. And with every flawed being, the differences in them are all that the goddess can see.

They do not see that Akashi’s cheek twitches from goddess’ arrogance, the bloodlust that darkens Murasakibara’s gaze even in his exhaustion, the ever-burning fury of Aomine at the constant abuse, the promise within the white-knuckled grip of Midorima, the anger that holds Kise in place as he shakes under the facade of tears and the cold burn of the phantom that Kuroko embodies — the people in white and Lady Justice do not _see_.

_But they do. ~~Is it because they were human? Or was it because they were once human?~~_

The monsters were awakening, prodded into life, to see their lives torn apart by the idealism of a being that believed themselves above others — they all see that these children were no longer such.

Trapped in such youthful cages, they were mere monsters.

And upon the arrival of T268, they witness just exactly _what_ kind of monsters that they were graced with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haizaki and the rest of relevant Teikou alumni are there because they are all witnesses to all of this even with report there, they still need people to back it up. Plus, I wanted all of them to know what the fuck they did by leaving them there. Haizaki, Nijimura, Shirogane, Sanada - everyone - to see why they are so fucked up and so unwilling to let them back in so easily.
> 
> Plus, Haizaki, even if he is a dick, he did go through a bit with them halfway through, but his file was removed and labeled as a XX instead after he was removed. He needs to know just how lucky he is, and what it truly means to be a GOM member. Cuz not gonna lie, the first thing I thought of when we were introduced to him was that he was not weird enough. ヽ(；▽；)ノ
> 
> Which is next chappie, cuz I needed to wrap up the people in white and move on with the trial cuz they deserve it for everything that they did. Apologies for the late chapter. The next chapter is... may be tomorrow, depends. Maybe next week. I have other shit going on so, we will see if I am for it after interviews and going through social interaction. Ugh. People. ｡゜(｀Д´)゜｡


	21. The Crimson Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Birthdays are important.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: PTSD, Child Neglect / Abuse, Human Experimentation, Trauma, Psychological Manipulation and Descriptions of Violence and Blood

**_Excerpt of ‘The Teikou Report’ — Last Updated on 04/01/20XX_ **

**_Treatments of GB — XXX_ **

_Treatment 268 (T268) — 01/31/20XX — Third Year_

**_INTERRUPTED, NEVER TO RESUME_ **

No. GBPG4 was scheduled for treatment — questioned as per standard protocol. All other five No. GB subjects were in individual cells, secure and contained. _*It is later observed that Room 1E and Room 1F are empty at the time. Subjects are later found in their cells, unmoved after No. GBPG4 is adequately secured. Subjects may have tampered with audio tapes to keep cause from being known._

**Escaped at 01:04 P.M. — after removal of two orderlies in cell (one manages to get through the door and seal it)**

Overkill was observed and room was covered in blood.

Memorized location of door and hourly changed passcode — twenty orderlies are removed in this time period. Stabs are precise and efficient. Appears to have a favoritism for surgical scissors.

**Exits Room 1A — two orderlies are removed.**

One was used as body shield for tranquilizers. Other one was the shooter that received fatal frontal brain damage via scissors.

**Passes Room 1B — No. GBSF8 is acknowledged.**

Exchange is recorded and unknown, as the walls are sound proof but subjects appear to understand through lip-reading the windows. Eight more orderlies are removed. Subject remains calm.

**Passes Room 1C — No. GBSG7 is acknowledged.**

Exchange is recorded and unknown, as the walls are sound proof but subjects appear to understand through lip-reading the windows. Seven more orderlies are removed. Subject remains calm.

**Passes Room 1D — No. GBPF6 is acknowledged.**

Exchange is recorded and unknown, as the walls are sound proof but subjects appear to understand through lip-reading the windows. Six more orderlies are removed. Subject remains calm.

**Stopped before coming to Room 1E (empty) and Room 1F (empty) — held by gunpoint by Teikou Underground Special Forces — collected and replaced in Room 1A.**

_Cause: Testimony of ~~Surviv~~ Escaped Orderly_

Orderly: “… _He_ … the monster… told me to leave.”

HD: “You were _allowed_ to escape?”

Orderly: *shakily nods* “ _He_ … No. GBPG4 asked how humans celebrated after he was asked to recite his date of birth.”

HD: “ _He_ … asked you how did _we_ celebrate?”

Orderly: “After he k-killed the first one.”

HD: “And your answer?”

Orderly: “N-Not me. The other one he answered. He… He said… ‘Why would a monster celebrate?’”

HD: “And that’s when he let you go?”

Orderly: “ _Yes_.”

_*After the incident, the audio tapes were found to reveal the following: it is unknown how they were mysteriously misplaced._

_*No. GBP15 is suspected with the assistance of No. GBC5 due to absence during incident._

* * *

_Audio Tapes_

**Passing Room 1B**

No. GBSF8 — “Akashicchi?”

No. GBPG4 — “Hello, Ryota.”

“Pardon the mess, I have just finished with Tetsuya and Atsushi’s gift.”

No. GBSF8 — *appears confused, before it clears quickly* *slow smile* “This is thoughtful of you, Akashicchi. _Thank you._ ”

No. GBPG4 — “Not at all. It is stifling to be in our rooms today, there is also Tetsuya and Atsushi's contributions too.”

No. GBSF8 — “Are you giving one to Aominecchi too?”

No. GBPG4 — “It would not fair to the rest if only half of my team received special treatment, would it, Ryota?”

No. GBSF8 — “Haha! No, it wouldn’t!”

**Passing Room 1C**

No. GBSG7 — “… _Akashi?_ ”

No. GBPG4 — “Good afternoon, Shintarou.”

No. GBSG7 — “Good afternoon… so, _this_ is what you were speaking of…”

No. GBPG4 — “Is that doubt, I hear, Shintarou?”

No. GBSG7 — “Not at all. Mere… _amusement?_ ”

No. GBPG4 — “Well, then. I am glad that you appreciate your gift.”

**Passing Room 1D**

No. GBPG4 — “Daiki.”

No. GBPF6 — “ _Akashi?!_ ”

No. GBPG4 — “Why the surprise, Daiki?”

No. GBPF6 — “I thought it would be e—“

No. GBPG4 — “ _Change of plans._ ”

No. GBPF6 — “Huh.”

No. GBPG4 — “Indeed.”

No. GBPF6 — “My list is still going to be done right?”

No. GBPG4 — “But of _course_.”

**Before Room IE**

No. GBPG4 looks to the hidden cameras (each and every one of them) and smiles softly, surrounded by TUSF. “And this is how a monster celebrates, humans. The question is, can you _really_ stop what you have created, Teikou?”

_*Suggestion of premeditation and it was later conjectured that the operation was to ‘celebrate’ for each of the subjects. Number of kills correspond with the number of subject — 2 (inside and outside of Room 1A = 4), 20 in between the door and password (alludes to No. GBP15 and GBC5 = 20), 8 outside of Room 1B, 7 outside of Room 1C and 6 outside of Room 1D._

_*Note that this conjecture is speculation._

_*Date is 01/31/20XX, birthday of No. GBP15_

* * *

_Attached Materials_

(Image of a blood covered Akashi [GBPG4XXX4], heterochromic eyes coy and smug despite the barrel on the side of his head.)

(Image of a bored Murasakibara [GBC5XXX14], eyes with a knowing twinkle in them, restrained.)

(Image of a lazy Aomine [GBFP6XXX14], bound as extensive as the rest, but for once, not looking like he minded it all that much.)

(Image of a scowling Midorima [GBSG7XXX15], lips not as deep as they usually were, wrapped fingers gnarled with mirth as if he were on a throne.)

(Image of a smiling Kise, [GBSF8XXX15], lips full and coldly sneering in a true grin of satisfaction.)

(Image of a stoic Kuroko [GBP15XXX16], with only one flaw to his mask, the small upturn of his left cheek in the birth of a soft smile.)

Regular = Original Documentation

 **Bold** = Added after T268

Underline = Later Added after T268, audio tapes were recovered.

Naturally, each of them are called up to stand after they all see the contents of the bloodiest treatment of the six now-high schoolers. Akashi is the first, smirking in his grey suit, heterochromic eyes as cold as the day they discuss and in complete control - Nijimura does not know whether or not be terrified for the lawyers or the world. He decides on the latter.

"What was the original plan for that day, Akashi-kun?"

Akashi folds his hands over his lap, relaxed. "To celebrate. The orderly implied that humans celebrated during the birth of one of their own, and we as monsters as they claimed do not have that right. I found a means to which we rectified that."

"With frenzied mass murder?"

Murasakibara gives his lolly a long lick as he raises an eyebrow. "Actually, the dismissal of _**them**_ was planned. Each kill was responsible for that ' _accident_ ' of T037. The surviving one gave me an extra maibo in the treatment before. It was Kuro-chin's birthday, a single day that he is acknowledged in exchange for being ignored for the remaining 364 ones, he deserves more than just a simple gift, ~~one in blood~~."

"A gift? Is that what you and your former team see this day as?"

Midorima raises his glasses. "Yes, I would think you were not hard of hearing. But regardless, it is a day of celebration. To decorate the walls in splendor ~~with blood~~ and spend time with those whom the celebrated enjoys being in company with. ~~With fellow monsters, just like him.~~ "

"The report suggests that **_they_** believed it was premeditated. Was it?"

" _Yes_." Kise observes his nails, perfect and manicured as if that conclusion was particularly obvious. "Akashicchi and Kurokocchi planned it. They wanted it to be surprise for the rest of us and needed Murasakibaracchi to get the audio tapes. They told us to look out our windows for a surprise, and no one disobeys Akashicchi!"

"Why did they need Murasakibara-kun for the tapes?"

Sapphire eyes glowed coldly. "To make **_them_** panic. Can you imagine not knowing why three of your subjects got out of their rooms? Only to find out it was just for a birthday? If three of us got out for just a birthday, **_their_** next thought would be 'What would make all six of them get out?'"

"What would make all six of you to get out?"

A corner of the phantom's lips twitch as Nijimura flinches, knowing the answer before it is said. " _Teikou._ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kuroko's birthday is important people. And now everyone knows why. (Refer to Chap. 1 if you don't remember, I don't expect ya to. It's been a minute.)
> 
> One more chapter over the treatments and trials, before we go into the final arc. None of the numbers are random, or any action for that matter. Most of it is spelled out, or is it? (￣ω￣)
> 
> Next chapter is... next week or something. Maybe later or earlier. Depends.  
> ＼（〇_ｏ）／


	22. Not Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mortals hold onto their ideals. As monsters coax them in the shadows, whispering, sweetly and so skillfully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: PTSD, Child Neglect / Abuse, Human Experimentation, Trauma, Psychological Manipulation and Descriptions of Violence and Blood AND SOME FLUFF FOR ONCE. ( ᐛ )و

Outside of the treatments, there was another feature of the report that prompted the trial of the seven minors — the blood on their hands. Despite the action, whether it be accidental or intentional, there were people who were killed. ~~Were ** _they_** really people?~~

But the only evidence was the records of the report. Which were traced back to confirmed individuals that were ruled dead, in otherwise means as expected of Teikou to cover her tracks thoroughly but _dead_ nonetheless. And that was evident as the last of the report was presented — the number of _official_ kills of the seven XXX and the _suspected_ ones.

Officially, Akashi held the most blood on his hands with forty-five men and women under his belt, all having been confirmed with the investigative units that the names and deaths correlated with the report. A far second was Aomine, who had a confirmed twenty-seven, followed by Midorima with seventeen, Kise with eleven, then Murasakibara with nine and lastly, Kuroko with two. Momoi had none, as the total was made into one-hundred and eleven. _~~111.~~_

Nijimura knew better than to think that the total was not deliberate, even without the glances from his brats to Kuroko. He later learns that is the last score they had ever gotten in that last championship game at Teikou. Leave it to Kuroko to take his revenge even by dirtying his hands. ~~_The last two were his, after all._~~

It is not _these_ numbers that are concerning.

It is the number of the dead that even _Teikou_ could not confirm. Orderlies found dead. Left in random locations. Some are mangled beyond recognition outside of DNA. Some are lucky enough to have teeth left for dental records. Some are lucky enough to have a trace of belongings. Some are dead by ~~supposed~~ suicide. Some are poisoned by a ~~supposed~~ allergy. Some are dead in their sleep for no fathomable reason outside of a sudden heart attack. Some are not found. Disappeared and missing.

Kuroko has the most of these suspected victims, with over two hundred and twenty of these _‘assisted’_ kills. One hundred is Akashi’s and ten short of his is Aomine’s suspected number, followed by Midorima at sixty, Kise at fifty and Murasakibara at forty with Momoi. Totaling at six-hundred lives instead of a mere over one hundred.

Nijimura felt like coals burned over his eyelids.

His brats ~~could have~~ killed a small village worth of people. _~~GoodfuckingLordabove.~~_

_~~But he would be lying if he said it was not well-deserved.~~ _

Even if these cases were ‘suspected’ by Teikou, every Teikou alumni knew that there was no doubt that the seven of them had killed, whether it be indirectly or directly, _all_ of those people. The score of a _perfect_ 600 was too coincidental to be _senseless_ killing — a _perfect_ score of all of their tests for XXX, six tests, each one worth 100 points.

They scored the perfect score that Teikou drove them to. _~~With **their** own blood.~~_

Six hundred people are dead. Because of seven tortured children. It is not accidental nor lacking intent. It is purposeful and with complete premeditation. It is homicide yet it is also self-defence. It is not manslaughter nor is it criminally negligent homicide. It is cold _murder_.

Yet, they were mentally stressed and under the age of legality. Clearly deranged and not entirely sane — trauma and mental duress clearly etched onto their souls. _~~If they had them anymore.~~_

 _I do not envy any of those people._ Nijimura frowns as the judge declares a recess for the jury to convene and make their decision. Standing, he stops at the bench that seats the seven brats that he had declared his, and the one girl that made six of them under her care.

Once upon a time, he knelt and held them close as they shivered against him. Now, he meets each of their gazes and smiles softly.

“A _perfect_ score. I shouldn’t be surprised.”

Haizaki is the one answers, scoffing. “Like anyone would with these _six_. They are the Kiseki no Sedai, _remember?_ ”

“Like you can forget, you jealous bastard.” Aomine sneered, immediately not liking the ash-eyed cohort’s tone. “Or is your head still spinning from that shiner you got from me during the Winter Cup?”

“What shiner, Aominecchi?” Kise blinked, confused before he hears the grumble of ‘a lucky hit’ from the former Kiseki. “Did you hit Haizaki? _When?”_

“Of course, _you_ would resort to violence.” Midorima sighs as if he never did, raising his glasses but not helping the conversation as he turns to Aomine with knowing. “Was it after Kise’s match with him?”

Aomine sputtered in surprise, grunting something about privacy while kicking aside a Kise that practically sparkled with happiness (Aominecchi cares! No, I _fu—!_ _OW! Tetsu!_ No foul language in the courtroom please, Aomine-kun.) while Haizaki has the face to look sheepish at Nijimura’s glare. ~~_Little shit._~~

“Yes, it was.” Akashi answered for the ace. “Daiki is aware of the rules of sportsmanship. And as a person who spoke Haizaki’s… _language_ , it was permitted for him to remind them to Haizaki.”

“So thickheaded, Haizaki.” Murasakibara hummed, before looking at the red captain and stating blandly. “Aka-chin is lying.”

“Oh?” Akashi smirked. “It was no lie, Atsushi.”

“As if the rest of us don’t know that the _main_ reason you didn’t stop it was because you found it _amusing_ even if poor sportsmanship is a reasonable offense to our oath.” Midorima grumbles, fiddling with his wrapped fingers as Akashi hums, conceding the point. “Or shall we speak of more incidents that you _allowed_ to happen?”

“As I recall, Shintarou, _those_ were well deserved.”

“Yes, sending a student into a mental hospital for _insubordination_ is well-deserved, Akashi-kun.”

“ _See_ , Shintarou, Tetsuya understands.”

“That was _not_ what he implied, Akashi.”

“That one was well-deserved. He was the one that tried to get into the regulars by putting glue in Tetsu-kun’s water bottle. Akashi-kun was only more effective in his... _methods_ than I was.”

“Not at all. The psychoactive drugs I had found in his water was most helpful, Momoi.”

“Sat-chin works so fast~ She got them from me after getting me a new chocolate flavored maibou~”

“Not to mention those two dunking idiots tackling into him in practice. While playing one-on-one by themselves. Breaking off the hoop twice. _With that moron's skull._ ” ~~And it was not like he was _particularly_ inclined to send for help.~~

“When was this again, Midorima?” ~~It was hard to keep track of the collateral damage over the years.~~

“Second year, you _aho_.”

“I'm not an idiot! The idiot is obviously Kise. He’s _blonde_.”

“My hair color has no correlation to intelligence, _Aominecchi!_ ”

“ _My_ , Ryota’s vocabulary has increased more than expected, Tetsuya.” ~~Cue Kise bullying time.~~

“I know, it is very surprising, Akashi-kun.”

“ _See_.” ~~He had Tetsu and Akashi on his side. Rest in Haizaki's hair, Kise.~~

“Kise-chin is stupid.”

“Hmph, like I need the likes of _Aomine_ to tell me such known facts. And are you hard of hearing? _Both of you are idiots._ ”

“Ryota is a _moron_. I’ve been telling you idiots this shit for _years_. And _now_ , you believe me? _Un- **fucking** -believable._”

“YOU _ALL_ ARE SO _MEAN!_ ” Kise wailed as the others and the last to speak, Haizaki, ignored him. A chuckle takes them from their conversation as they blinked, realizing that none of their audience had left for their recess, stopped by the antics of the eight children present. Nijimura has a soft smile on his lips as he stands over all of them, grey eyes glowing.

A dark voice whispers to him. _It can be an act._

But Nijimura was never one to obey. _An act, perhaps. ~~But was it so bad for him to hope that they could still laugh and tease one another like this even after all of it?~~_

As long as they can still laugh and smile like this — to hell with Teikou and what they were or what the six of them wanted or needed — as long as they could smile and be happy. _Wasn’t that what mattered?_

_How foolish was he to still have hope for these monsters?_

* * *

_Psychiatric hold._ Haizaki included for his own trauma along with Momoi, made the eight of them to not be pursued under Japanese criminal law and an innocent judgment was given — however, counseling and involuntary commitment was mandatory. It was clear to all that all eight of children were traumatized and needed some level of therapy at the very _least_. Schooling was once again placed on hold at the moment and if there was a good thing that resulted from the report, it was that it accurately assessed the boys’ psychological state along with their physical ones. _~~As far as they knew.~~_

~~What good was a suicidal weapon?~~

~~_Foolish of you to believe that escape was so easy._ ~~

The implant was not removable. The scars would always be there. Teikou was _still_ there. However, they had begun to heal. ~~_Hadn't they?_~~

The people in white were no longer. Shirogane and Sanada were collateral that suffered in their own way and they paid in same. Nijimura saved them, as promised. They saved themselves. ~~_Wasn’t it all enough now?_~~

All was silent in the lavish room of the Akashi household, the remaining heir at the head of the table. His phantom was seated to his right, nursing a cup of tea.

“The sentence was surprising, Akashi-kun.” Lips pursed over the lip of the china as blank eyes met those heterochromic ones. “To be institutionalized, one could argue that we would be transferred from one cage to another.”

“So little faith, Tetsuya.” _~~To imply that such walls would hold us down.~~_ “As the gatekeeper, my phantom sixth man, you have such little trust.”

The phantom does not deny it. “Trust is _earned_ , Akashi-kun. But there is another topic of interest that I wanted to speak to you.”

The Rakuzan captain raises an eyebrow. With Tetsuya, the interest could be anything. To the suggestion of their conversation in the courthouse. It was good to remind that they were _lucid_ — pity and sympathy was illusion that could work _too_ well if not regulated proper. Or from the presence of Haizaki. An abandoned subject that was seen as a dead end. Too dim to be a light but too bright to be a true shadow. A shade of grey that was no monster, too _mortal_ — he had no place in their rainbow of chaos.

Yet, Kuroko had a place for him in the courthouse.

~~_A means to an end all the same._ ~~

The perfect distraction for Nijimura. The very _first_ failure, the lightest trauma and the most arguably sane of their cohort; therefore, the very first that is planned to be released. He got back his Nijimura-senpai like they did. And their senpai could have saved the one that got away.

The six of them and Momoi, in other hand, was _indefinite_. ~~_For now._~~

“It is hard to prove sanity, Akashi-kun.” Kuroko begins, his argument against the sentence clear.

How Momoi would be a convincing teenage girl that held no ill will to others as she had fooled others for _years_. How Ryota would suave them into believing that he was a sweet male model that was affectionate as he had for _years_. How Aomine would prove to them of his grumpy moods was no cover as he had for _years_. How Murasakibara was childish and a glutton that everyone could dote on for _years_. How Midorima was quite sane outside of Oha-Asa as he had for _years_. How he and Akashi would be the ones in there longest — because they were possible dangers that were not only _sane_ but methodical as they had for _years_.

~~_All these years, how could they see **all** of these scars so easily now?_ ~~

No one knew that they were pathological liars. No one knew that their mental state in the report were fabricated. No one knew that they were _very much sane_. Skillfully using their charms to _woo_ the mortal souls to dance by their tune, unaware and to their entertainment.

Mortals needed explanations for the unknown. The forces that drove them into monsters, it was losing their mortal sanity. ~~_Monsters had none in the first place._~~

It is insane for mortals to kill other mortals. Yet it is sane for them stab one another in back for self-gain. It is insane for monsters to kill their own. It is sane for them to do as they please, for their desires alone — _no matter the consequences_.

“Mortals are the only ones that kill their own kind.” Akashi answers, his tea cold as if hearing the thoughts of phantom. “And they are the most _rational_ of creatures, Tetsuya. As long as we are not mortals, _sanity_ is not hard to prove, Tetsuya.”

The captain smirks as he rests his mismatched eyes on his phantom.

“After all, mortals have self-preservation. How will they dance for us to play for them once more when they learn that Teikou is not the _only_ one out there?”

~~_With their own XXX._ ~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never said they were the only ones, guys. The only ones in Teikou, yes. But the world?   
> No. ∠( ᐛ 」∠)＿
> 
> So, I lied. There is one more treatment chap, then final arc but they are more of transitionary so, meh. But yes, GOM is free to go, cuz of the circumstances but also they are minors in duress - they are supposed to be in therapy. (Lord knows they need it.) 
> 
> Oh, and an explanation of the use of mental stability here.  
> See, the word 'sane' is extremely relative here. When GOM call themselves 'sane', they mean it by their standards, not the collective society's. (Because in that definition, they are by no means, sane at all.) The mental assessments in the report are all fabricated as referenced in this chapter (made up by GOM before Nijimura gets his hands on it for release) because can you imagine reading this thing and have the mental assessments be absent?
> 
> GOM wouldn't have been pitied, but feared (more than they already are) to the point of execution. Hence why they added it. But knowing that, does that make them more dangerous knowing how to fake societal sanity and having the premeditation to add it? (Of course it does.)


	23. Beyond the Walls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything goes according to plan. Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: PTSD, Child Neglect / Abuse, Human Experimentation, Trauma, Psychological Manipulation and Descriptions of Violence and Blood

**_Excerpt of ‘The Teikou Report’ — Last Updated on 04/01/20XX_ **

**_Treatments of GB — XXX_ **

**_SCHEDULED AFTER FIRST YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL_ **

_Treatment 385 (T385) — 04/01/20XX — Second Year of High School_

All six subjects are _required_ to report to Teikou for annual examination.

Assessment of abilities is recommended with _all_ abilities — developed in Teikou’s time table _and_ outside of it.

_*Force is expected for proper persuasion. Will be implemented, if not compliant._

_**Abilities for Assessment** _

No. GBPG4 — Emperor Eye, **Zone** , Ankle-Breaking, Perfect-Rhythmed Plays, **Court Vision** and Sleight of Ball Handling

Interest on accessibility to all abilities — specifically **Zone** , **Perfect-Rhythmed Plays** and **Court Vision**.

No. GBSG7 — **High Projectile Three** , Perfect Accuracy, **Limitless Range** and Pump Fake

Interest on new abilities of **Sky Direct Three-Point Shot** and **Limitless Range**

No. GBC5 — Impenetrable Defense and Power, **Thor’s Hammer** and **Shield of Aegis**

Interest in new abilities of **Zone** (thought to be impossible for subject) and **Vice Claw** (copied from Uncrowned General — assess subject’s ability to copy similar to No. GBSF8)

No. GBPF6 — Speed and Agility, Change of Pace, Formless Shot, Heightened Instincts and **Zone**

Interest on potential new abilities now that subject has been exposed to proper motivation. Further testing is required and recommended.

No. GBSF8 — Copying and **Perfect Copy**

Interest on Perfect Copy, such as limitations, range and endurance. Assess potential for **Zone**. Further testing is required and recommended.

No. GBP15 — Misdirection, Invisible Pass, Cyclone Pass and Ignite Pass.

Interest in new abilities of **Ignite Pass Kai** , **Vanishing Drive** , **Misdirection Overflow** , **Phantom Shot** and **Quasi-Emperor** **Eye** — Keeper of Zone. Further testing for role and allowance into Zone.

Further testing is required and recommended — inquire No. GBC5 and No. GBSF8 on Zone potential.

Most improved and unexpected to have evolved.

_ *Possible Subject — identified as ‘Kagami Taiga’ that interacts with No. GBP15; noted to be similar to No. GBPF6. _

_**Psychological Assessment** _

Rejected — not required by orders.

Measurements and vitals are required along with standard protocols.

_**Attached Materials** _

TBA

Regular = Original Documentation

 **Bold** = New Abilities, as Observed.

* * *

It happens as Kuroko predicts. ~~As expected of the phantom within the shadows.~~

Haizaki is released first. Followed by Momoi. Then it is Midorima, Murasakibara, Kise and Aomine. All within a month, _all_ of them are considered sane and have received their proper therapy. It is credited from being free from Teikou for a year. ~~_Ha._~~

Their captain and phantom, however, are _not_.

Akashi still attends in the expensive resort of an institution at Kyoto, monitored as he attends Rakuzan and returns to the establishment by the end of the school day. Kuroko has the same schedule in the Tokyo branch, receiving regular visits from his grandmother and friends alike.

It is a _coincidence_ that their parents all die on the first day of the spring semester. ~~_No, it is not._~~

It is not them.

It is the efforts of Shirogane. ( _It is not for you children to soil your hands with._ Gentle hands remove their fingers from the keys, closed eyes clothing against those maddeningly blank ones. _Allow this old man his due. For not being there._ )

(Blank eyes meet heterochromic ones, the latter glittering with premeditation. Kuroko is pleasantly surprised.)

Their second year begins with little fanfare as the news dies down, and life returns to the equilibrium before the incident. But not one soul associated with the six forgets it. ~~_How can they?_~~

The eggshells never seem to be broken, whether it be due to avoidance or downright ignorance, they are not treaded on. And for a while, it seemed that was how it was going to be.

But then, one day, Kuroko’s phone goes off when he is walked to the institution by Kagami after school.

Kise is on the other line. Kagami can recognize that happy-go-lucky voice anywhere. But something is _wrong_ with his voice.

It is not his happy to-see-his-friends tone.

But a tone that Kise uses sometimes when he provokes another player, whether due to incompetence or mere disillusion of arrogance — it is _mocking_ , cold and filled with so much bitterness that no sweet, even with the expertise of _Murasakibara_ , would temper it.

The reaction Kuroko has to his words ~~whatever they are~~ , traumatizes him more than first time he had seen his shadow’s anger at Hanamiya’s foul play. And he already has enough nightmare fuel from that. ~~_Thanks._~~

At the time, his shadow was as tense as a bound string, ready to snap at the lightest _teeter_ of his anger’s edge. Blank eyes glowing with fury and eyebrows furrowed with clear disturbance, Kagami could not repress the flinch at the emotional display of his shadow.

Just like when he couldn't repress the shiver when he and their team arrived for the collective funeral for the Kiseki parents, finding Kuroko having been there the _entire_ time, only revealing his presence to them all when the cremation was _over_. ~~_Mother never liked me to be seen. Whether it be in life or death._~~

And once again, now, his body betrays him with a severe flinch and a half-step back from the shadow.

Kuroko looks like _Akashi_. Blank eyes carefully sharpened with superiority, lips pulled to a cold purse and brows relaxed with ponder — he does not look like his quiet shadow, he looks like a phantom lord overlooking someone who had trespassed into his realm of darkness. And by pity, save that _someone_ because Kagami _can’t_.

However, as soon as this doppelgänger of Akashi appears, he disappears into Kuroko.

Kagami ~~does~~ _chooses_ not to mention it. And as far as Kuroko is concerned, it _didn’t_ , as it goes unspoken. Kagami sees his friend off, the phantom giving Miyu — his nurse — his phone and belongings before being escorted into his room.

True to his idiot basketball nature, Kagami Taiga fell asleep and tried to forget about the phone call ever happening. ~~Unsuccessfully.~~

His shadow moves differently, a separate entity from his light as he convenes with five other lights — having met the darkness that is Kuroko Tetsuya far earlier than he. _And that makes all the difference._

* * *

_C11_ — the label reads, as a violet eye stares into the convex meniscus before the tube is replaced into the incubator. Murasakibara frowns as his tongue clicks at the high response from the latest round of tests, making a mental note to call Mido-chin for some input. Tearing off the XXL nylon gloves, he taps the password before he is allowed back into his bedroom, collapsing in a flop onto the warm comfort of his bed.

It was relatively _easy_ to be removed from the facility.

They asked him _many_ questions.

Like how did it make him _feel_ when he killed someone?

(Murasakibara pretends squirm into his chair, as if to make himself smaller. He pretends that it is Sat-chin asking him with sincerity.) ~~Pretending is not hard. Not when you have been doing it for years, now.~~

“Good.” He mumbles. “They didn’t give me my maibou.”

How does he think he should feel?

(He ponders for a moment, as if he is genuinely confused. _Or is he?_ Murasakibara doesn’t know if he knows the difference anymore.) ~~Because does it really matter?~~

“Bad?” He questions more than he answers. The doctors write down that he is displaying guilt. ~~He wonders if they know he is incapable of feeling that.~~

How are his dreams?

(Visions of red and a rainbow of colors add hue to them. _If he is being truthful_. He finds it too troublesome to be the bearer of vigilance.)

“Scary.” He whispers as if it were a sin to break the sudden silence when he stills at their question. The doctors hold their breaths, pupils blown and pens hovering. “ ** _They… they_** are always there.”

They eat it up like he does with snacks. ( _Simple mortals._ Aka-chin coos in his head.)

And before long, he waves goodbye to the staff as his oldest sister checks him out of the institution. She does not ask him about the doctors. Or Teikou. ~~_No one does._~~

Instead, she asks him about his studies. What does her youngest brother want to do when he is an adult? What can she do to be there for him? What does he need? Did he have enough allowance going to Yosen?

He answers honestly and as he always does. Nothing has changed for him, after all. But for everyone else… the _world_ is no longer the same.

It is not his problem, _really_. He muses on his bed, violet locks splayed out on the bedsheets. His perception of the world is unchanged and its not for him to correct others into seeing. _Outside of them, that is._

A cell phone going off takes him from his thoughts. Tapping the screen, he sees its a message. From Mido-chin.

_Aomine was just released._

Murasakibara replies with a hum, literally and through text. That only left Kuro-chin and Aka-chin. He was under no illusions that they would be so easily removed from the psych wards as he was. Aka-chin and Kuro-chin always were instinctively _off_ in some way. Not in the sense that he was or even Kise-chin but _unsettlingly_ so. As if they were not entirely _normal_ — even without the experiments within Teikou.

Would the two of them been less traumatized?

 _Of course._ (Needles and the color white would have meant much less.)

Would the two of them been less powerful?

 _Not necessarily._ (They did not _need_ Teikou to be that.)

Even if Teikou were to be a _normal_ middle school, one that was merely overzealous in their motto in spirit and sports, Murasakibara had doubts that they were mentally strong enough to withstand it. They were fragile for all of their talents — young, vulnerable genii in their own rights. Even if they were normal middle school kids, there was _little_ room for them to be completely sane. Murasakibara does not believe in the hands of fate like Mido-chin does. But even he knows better than to think that it is _only_ the circumstances that draw them together.

Even with him in Yosen and Aka-chin in Kyoto, they were all on the same side. ~~_Forever._~~

He traces a hand over his shoulder blades, over invisible numbers that appeared when he played. **_They_** made sure of it, after all.

Miles away, Kise watches with narrowed eyes at one screen of many, a secret room within the walls of his bedroom. The directives from the pilot echoed through his headset as he types quickly, a small smile gracing his lips when he notices the file from Momoi.

**_File 011 — 04_ **

**_Subject: Nash Gold Jr., No. GBPG4 — XXX_ **

**_File 013 — 08_ **

**_Subject: Jason Silver, No. GBC8 — XXX_ **

_So, they have come._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, a bit of a time skip, into the Last Game! ヾ(｡･ω･)ｼ
> 
> GOM is plotting, which is nothing new. And as for their release from therapies, I am not in any way trying to say that therapy does not work or is ineffective. Only that it does not work for everyone. Like for me, it helped but didn't cure the main issue. Which is fine and perfectly normal. For GOM, it's the same. Even if they did break down and tell others of everything they went through, it's all words. There is no action to it, direction or motivation to fix it. So, they took matters into their own hands. And the questions from therapy is not as hard as you would think to supply the right answer - with proper control of one's body language and words and demeanor - you can come off as sane (as sane as you can, at least).  
> Of course, that is very hard as old habits die hard but GOM are not remotely normal neither so, there. And I wanted to highlight a point that Murasakibara makes here. Even when Teikou wasn't as bad as it is in this story, GOM are still fucked up. So, of course if Teikou was worse, they would be worse as shown.
> 
> Btw, updates are going to be less now with all the nonsense going on, plus I've kinda hit a writer's block. But I am not abandoning or anything, I am going to finish this thing (along with others I have up). Please keep yourselves healthy, mentally and physically, because I know many people are going through a hard time and are trying to keep themselves calm through this by reading or watching TV, so if I can give you a moment of solace through the story, I am glad to help. ୧( ˵ ° ~ ° ˵ )୨


	24. Realizations from Within

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Last Game officially begins, while Momoi retrospects.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warnings: Canonical Racism, Implied Human Experimentation, Derogatory Terminology, Medical References of Drug Trials, Referenced Out of Country Exploitation, Mental Breakdowns, Self-Harm, Implied and Referenced Murder, References to Addiction and Garbled Language

_The strength of Murasakibara, the speed of Aomine and the eye of Akashi, all formidable opponents alone._ Midorima muses. It was not too out of the realm of expectation, since none of them were foolish to think that retaliation was not possible. They are powerful but not invincible. ~~_Alone, that is._~~

_Together, nothing was impossible. ~~Not anymore.~~_

He watches the game against his senpai’s new team, how they humiliate them, taunting them as if they were not worth the game — calling the players of Japan monkeys. _How ironic. ~~When they were the monkeys for Teikou.~~_

With the States being a nation that conducted the most drug trials, the raw drugs would be theorized in Japan, synthesized and tested off-shore before being refined and administered to their own monsters — all the States asked in return was the research. It was not a long decision to make, as it gave the Western world a chance to recreate it, but they would have to find the right subjects for the treatments. The remaining question was merely if they could.

Apparently, they had. Adopting their naming system, it was almost… _cute_.

And they wore their arrogance even thicker than they did. Drunk on their power, to dominate and to reign over their opponents, Team Jabberwocky was all too aware of their ability to change the game to their whim. ~~_How dare they._~~

Basketball was _their_ domain and theirs _alone_. Usurpers will be punished. Swiftly and harshly. _~~Permanently.~~_

His cell phone pings, taking him from his thoughts as he reads it.

_Phase 1 Complete._

Emerald eyes note the anger rolling off of his team in waves before he sees the sight of Aida Riko’s father’s challenge and agrees. The task of centralizing a match against monster and monster was accomplished, all it took was the cost of their senpai’s pride.

~~A small price for the ends, really.~~

Since they would be reaping the sick _pleasure_ when they defeated them.

He palms the cactus in his hand as he purses his lips. “Takao. We will leave for Seiren. _At once._ ”

Ignoring the babble of Takao, he suppresses a shiver of thrill. _Will they be torn apart or will it be those abominations that dare challenge them?_

It is the first time he had wondered it — losing to Kuroko or Akashi was a blow to his pride — but this was an attack on his _autonomy_ , will they survive?

He is not feeling _particularly_ merciful.

* * *

The thing with one’s state of mind is that it is all subjective and relative to the person’s perception. Such as the label of ‘monster’, it is used describe a mortal who has gone beyond the capabilities of a normal human, commonly involuntary in these abilities or misused. Fittingly, Dai-chan and the others use it to describe themselves, to separate from **_them_**.

Momoi does not illusion to herself to think she is omniscient. ~~But gods be damned, she can fucking _try_.~~

In her assessment, it is a both a coping mechanism _and_ the root of the disease.

In one hand, it is how her boys instinctively distinguish each other from everyone else in the world. As subjects, they were separated more than together, surrounded by the people in white, ready to hurt them with the slightest opening. Paranoia was the least problematic souvenir.

By labeling **_their_** ‘kind’ consciously, it also bled subconsciously.

However, it was also what isolated her boys even further. It made them mistrusting of the human race — the concept of monster ingrained to their very _bones_. Words that were originally insults and coaxing of the people in white grew and festered with evolution into definition, twisting the vulnerable psyche of six boys.

Making every one of them was a monster of _their_ own making. But the creator was **_them_**.

By being monsters, the six of them were not human. ~~Like ** _them_**.~~

It opened more into the world that the Kiseki no Sedai created for themselves once the concept was accepted. Rules were broken because to abide to morals was human. Lives were trampled on because to value the lives of prey was human.

Killing one’s species was inconceivable because to value the lives of allies was not human. The six of them were so _desperate_ to not be human.

_Because humans hurt them._

Humans gave away their young like commodities. Letting them _live_ through the torture instead of saving them. Not even merciful enough to _end_ their suffering. 

~~_No one was going to save them._ ~~

No one but _monsters_ — not humans. ~~So, what was the point of being human?~~

Momoi witnesses everyone’s realization of this except Tetsu-kun’s.

Kise Ryota comes to it, eyes crying while a smile remains plastered to his face, bleeding fists digging into his scalp as deep as the shards of glass are in his knuckles, kneeling before a broken mirror — horrific sobs wracking his body as she tries to console him, outside of his room.

She does not make it. He can't hear her.

They only let her in after he has cried it all out, eyes rolled into his skull and the _fucking_ smile is gone. She feels something burst when the orderly murmurs how long the subject could cry for, noting that it was useful for emotional manipulation. She is lying if her hands are not stained in the aftermath.

~~_"S-Stop! Stop fucking smiling! I want to stop... Please let me stop. Please..."_ ~~

Murasakibara Atsushi comes to it after a nightmare, body shivering under the administration of C11, hands caked with human blood. Momoi is there when the giant is banging his temples against the walls, sticky with red and stranded by purple hairs. She is crying before she realizes it, pulling futilely at the door.

It does not open. No matter how much she tries.

She dislocates her arm. She doesn't care.

They let her stay there and watch as Murasakibara mutters his revelation like a madman who has found his god. Proclaiming himself to be beyond mortal, a monster, as he bangs his head in a corner, shaking and as pale as an addict needing his fix.

~~_"I can't be... 'it's just powdered sugar'... 'powdered sugar...' I'm not like **them**. **Them**. **They** hurt us... I... we are different... right, Aka-chin...?' "Right, Aka-chin?!'... 'Where are you..?' Aka-chin...?' ... Did you leave us too...? Please... don't leave us... alone... Not again..."_~~

Midorima Shintarou comes to it when one day, they have broken one too many of his lucky items. He is alone, trembling and shivering in the remains of his obsession, hopelessly lost. Momoi does not have to see his face to know he is in utter despair. Uncaring and unfeeling of the blood that surrounds him.

She does not stop the orderlies that go in.

Because she knows they will not come back out. Because there is not a single shred of mortality left in that room.

She is not wrong.

~~_"Get.. lost... get lost... get... away...get away... get away... GET LOST!"_ ~~

Aomine Daiki comes to it fully when she finds him. Blood broken on his knuckles, feral snarl to his lips and eyes aglow with venomous fury.

He is only settled when he sees her. Draped in white.

~~_"Satsuki... safe... at **all** costs."_ ~~

Akashi Seijuurou comes to it when the shards dig too deeply.

She watches as the blood pools at his feet, literally and figuratively. The shards are embedded too deeply, that the body cannot heal. It doesn't. Instead, it cuts into the flesh. Leaving no blood left to bleed.

She watches as those now heterochromic eyes wonder if humans could bleed _so_ red, as well.

She finds herself wondering the same.

~~_"How unfortunate. There isn't enough. Blood is such a beautiful pigment to dye our walls that we must acquire more."_ ~~

Kuroko Tetsuya was never really human. _Yes_ , he imitated humans well. So well that even she and most of those who recalled Kuroko Tetsuya was fooled.

She only sees it when he informs her he is going to attend Seiren.

And answers her when she asks what if he does not find a light. He merely stares.

~~_"I do not need a light, Momoi-san. I **want** a light. Just like I wanted all the others."_ ~~

Momoi stares at her hands. And wonders if the other two XXX are as scarred as them.

Before realizing that she no longer has the capacity to care. ~~_Not anymore._~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hEllo. *waves*
> 
> In my angst, this came out while I was writing KNSM, my other KNB story. So, I thought I'd post it for y'all. Hopefully, you all like it as it is the official beginning of the Last Game.
> 
> And I thought I take the racism in canon and give it a bit of a twist. (╯✧∇✧)╯Because you do have to go through animal trials and then human trials first for new drugs. But since this is Teikou and illegal, off-shore is one of the easier ways to cover up your tracks plus this is hardly the first time that countries exchanged medical research for silence.
> 
> Lastly, a look in Momoi's account of every Kiseki's revelation of not being human. And how she unconsciously changes with them. Also, updates on this one is still going to be slow, since I'm trying to write differing versions to see which one I like better to finish up this story, so please be patient with me! ヽ( ･∀･)ﾉ  
> Thank you for reading! (ﾉ^ヮ^)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧


	25. Hierarchy - Kuroko

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rainbow boys plot, while their phantom plays with his new toys.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warnings: Canonical Racism, Implied and Referenced Human Experimentation, Derogatory Terminology / Strong Language, References of Drug Trials, Referenced Out of Country Exploitation and Manipulation.

They all gather in Seiren’s gym. ~~As ordered.~~

Momoi is naturally first, hair in a ponytail and magenta eyes ever present with coy as a clipboard rests in the crook of her arm. Ice-cold Pocari and water, freshly laundered towels, therapy casts, emergency supplies, an emergency kit, ~~_The Emergency_ kit~~ and information files — _all_ _ready_.

One by one, they arrive, greeting her.

Her boys have a moment to themselves without Tetsu-kun. And it’s fine.

Since he and Akashi-kun still needed permission to be out of their mandatory therapy, Kagamin was the one to pick up the phantom with the appropriate paperwork, signed by his grandmother, while Akashi-kun merely needed a phone call before he was cleared with a plane ticket to Tokyo along with one for Mukkun from Yosen. ~~Maximized efficiency.~~

“Shall we break it to them?” Akashi-kun asks flippantly, as if on the edge of a whimsical decision, after all of them set their things aside. “The identities of our _dear_ opponents to our other teammates?”

“And ruin all the suspense, Akashi?” Midorin scoffs, having sent Takao out to find the Seiren coach and her father. “I suppose they have a right to know, seeing how Kagami will be playing as well.”

 _“Tch.”_ Dai-chan grunts at the mention of his rival’s name, souring. “He didn’t have to know when he was playing _us._ I don’t see why he has to know _now.”_

“That’s because he knows about us ~~as much as we allowed anyway~~. But either way, it’s none of his business.” Ki-chan shrugged, adding his two cents. “Or _theirs_ for that matter.”

“And how about them?” Mukkun prompted, humming. “Do these new opponents know of us, Sat-chin?”

She shakes her head. “Nope _._ The Americans appeared to have cleaned up every trace of their involvement in their transaction with Teikou. Though, we do have backed-up evidence of our own. Shall I pull them up for you, Akashi-kun?”

“No need, Momoi.” The captain shook his head in thanks. “I understand that the opposing XXXs were voluntary?”

The manager nods, before giving her report. “Both appear to have consented voluntarily to all procedures, along with their own signatures and parental ones. Their handwriting and records do not display any resistance of any kind. And since the protocol is very much illegal, the operation was kept under wraps and hush money within the government as expected. Very little know of it and those who know, do not speak of it. Similar to Teikou, they have their eyes on their limited XXXs with the chips. Unlike us, however, they have one difference.”

“Oh?” Dai-chan prompted, spinning a basketball effortlessly. “What?”

“They were expendable.” Ki-chan said with no small amount of aloofness. "They were part of a collection." ~~Not anymore.~~

“And how are we any better?” Dai-chan scoffs darkly.

“On the contrary,” Akashi-kun cuts in, heterochromatic eyes sharp. “We are _far worse.”_

Magenta eyes glowed ominously as pink numbers glowed along her hips. _Oh, she was counting on it._

* * *

Kuroko stared at the two subjects like he had stared at their files.

The blonde young man was as tall as Kagami-kun. _190 cm._ Golden locks on his head that were paler than the true gold of Kise-kun, face handsome if one was into the arrogance that seeped into that visage. Pale jade eyes as cool as their coloring, he was polite to his server, _almost_ charming. A complete contrast to the man who rudely dismissed other players, a _beast_ hidden under a mask. 

~~_Or so it would seem._ ~~

~~~~He adjusts his wrists, glancing at his nails. Manicured and dulled.

**File 011 — 04**

**Subject:** Nash Gold Jr., No. GBPG4 — XXX

 **Abilities of Assessment:** Weight of Ball-Handling, Hide Preparatory Movements, Belial Eye, Ankle-Breaking, Double Clutch, Court Awareness, Refined Orthodox Style and Physical Prowess.

_*Subject was trained to be an all-around player on fundamentals. Treatments included the following: Oe159, Se284, Me320, Oe90 as final administrations with preceding doses._

Captaincy was no mistake. ~~It never was.~~ And if the shorter of the two was such, there was a _reason_ — he was able to hold the reins of his team when necessary. Impressive. But not entirely unexpected for the blonde's arsenal of abilities.

Like it wasn't unexpected for Akashi-kun to be captain. Then and now.

Jason Silver was different. He was darker skinned than Aomine-kun and taller than Murasakibara-kun. In his namesake, short silver hair covered his head, highlighted by his many piercings as he was not traditionally handsome, but was manly in posture and build. Where Nash Gold Jr. was two-faced, Silver was not. He held the same ignorance and arrogance in the game against Team Strky towards the girls who serve them, leering at them lecherously.

~~_A beast, through and through. With a retainer._ ~~

Kuroko glances at their necks. Open and bare.

**File 013 — 08**

**Subject:** Jason Silver, No. GBC8 — XXX

 **Abilities of Assessment:** Exceptionally Strong Body, Speed and Agility, Jumping Power, Destructive Strength, Animal Instinct, Lane-Up and Two-Handed Windmill Dunk.

_*Subject was trained to have physical dominance, speed and jumping power. Treatments included the following: Se381, Je010 as final administrations with preceding doses._

These young men were one year his senior. ~~_Tested on one year before him._~~

But in terms of care, Kuroko was the first subject. ~~_Tetsuya-kun, Mother has an idea. Will you listen to me?_~~

 _“Oh?_ And who are you?” The Japanese was smooth, polite and refined. Gold crafted his mask well.

_But will it be as perfect as Kuroko's? ~~Of course not.~~_

Kuroko ignores Aida Kagetora’s surprise at his presence. He is of non-importance.

Instead, he addresses the question.

“Nice to meet you.” He greets them. (It is polite to give your name before taking their life, Tetsuya-kun. Even if they will not remember you, you _must_ remember your manners. _Yes, Mother._ ) “I am Kuroko Tetsuya, one of the players that will go against you in the upcoming game.”

Kuroko receives the expected response, much laughter. ~~_It is much more satisfying to crush unsuspecting prey._~~

But before they can escalate in their amusement, he cuts in. “Escape must have been hard, _No. GBPG4 — XXX-san._ ”

Oh, how lovely silence _truly_ was, even with that infernal karaoke music in the background.

But Kuroko was sure that it was on unheard ears for now. It was _almost_ as sweet as the one he had first experienced with the two he allowed for **_them_** to find. ~~Almost~~.

The two subjects froze while the rest of their team flinched so severely, (How open of these monkeys, to share their troubles so readily. But then again... there were only _two_ left.) the couch shook with them.

Kagetora-san was confused but seemed to instinctively know that… _something_ was off. Hm, Coach had to have inherited such traits from _someone_ he supposed.

Kuroko continued, unperturbed. “Or was I mistaken? That in actuality, you have yet been freed from your prison? From _**them**_ , _senpai?”_

The kick from Silver is expected. ~~Kuroko does not miss the glance between Silver and Gold.~~

The blow is both powerful and swift as the wind is knocked out of him, hands unconsciously grabbing at the offending limb. Kagetora-san calls out to him, concerned. It goes unacknowledged as Gold stands, his eyes aglow with fury.

 _Ho, so **they** labeled them as well. _Kuroko hums, noting the golden numbers under the captain's sleeve.

“What the _fuck_ is this monkey spewing?” Silver stands, eyes glinting with sadistic fervor at Gold’s words, as the blonde grabs for the front of his shirt. _“You_ … _who the fuck are you?”_

True to a phantom, Kuroko rests cold hands over Gold’s, lips hidden as he whispers softly. “I am No. GBP15 — XXX, it is always a _pleasure_. To meet the _monkeys_ that were used a year before us.”

For the reason for their year of treatment freedom in Teikou was no _mercy_. Nor was it a matter of being too young. ~~Because what difference was a year of age when your victims would be of tender age regardless?~~

 _No._ They merely required to be tested off-shore _first. ~~On monkeys.~~_

Gold could deny the shiver in his bones all he wished. _No one misses it._

He threw off the boy with low presence ~~a tad too quickly to be deemed comfortable~~ , seeing a crowd of similarly aged and tall high schoolers catch him. Gold sneers to the best of his ability because of their presence as they yell at him for hitting their team member. He is not shaken by passionate words of such.

 ~~No, he was already sweating before they arrived.~~

Words exchanged, Gold watches them leave, knowing that his Belial Eye did not fail him.

 _Kuroko Tetsuya._ No. GBP15 — XXX as he claimed. He _smiled_ at him as he spoke, speaking to Gold like the _monkey_ he was.

_~~He had never been more terrified.~~ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ( ᐛ )و
> 
> Yo, it's been a while! And I hope you all are staying home, healthy and happy.
> 
> So, some info on Jason and Nash - the two of them voluntarily went into their treatments with parental permission and are the only ones left, once considered expendable. And were the reason that the treatments were held back for one year for GOM, because they tested the e drugs for them first for Teikou.
> 
> And obvs, canon divergence from Last Game as the conversation does not quite go as it did in canon. Just minor differences, of course. ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ
> 
> Or are they?


	26. Streams of Information - Midorima

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nijimura questions Akashi, while Midorima finds out why his presence is required.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Descriptions of Graphic Violence, Canonical Racism, Implied and Referenced Human Experimentation, Derogatory Terminology / Strong Language, References of Drug Trials, Referenced Out of Country Exploitation and Manipulation.

Shirogane is the one who brings it to Nijimura’s attention, who glances at his laptop. _And stares._

Before blinking once. Then twice.

~~Those _fucking_ brats.~~

Swearing about how his ~~amazing-as-fuck~~ morning had been ruined by six of the seven brats he adopted and the fucking irony that it was the _most_ troublesome one that was giving him the _least_ amount of heart attacks (And that was fucking saying _something_.), he immediately calls Akashi on his secure lines.

Of course, at the first ring, the younger captain answers.

“Nijimura-senpai.” _Fuck him. His call was expected. Why the fuck was he fond of these troublesome brats? ~~Because they were his.~~_

“Akashi. What is this of _two_ foreign XXX entering the country?” Nijimura is not a impatient man. Nor is he one for bullshit. All of his brats knew this. “Does Teikou know of this?”

“Of course, senpai.” Akashi answers pleasantly and as patiently as a sane man. Neither Akashi nor Nijimura are _remotely_ close to being sane. “Shall I have Momoi-san send over the appropriate paperwork? The transactions are all legal, after all.”

That is a _lie_ and they both know it. Teikou was anything but _legal._ And the fact that there were foreign XXX was no secret among the ranks of Teikou alumni.

But they were not let in the nation for a _reason_ — possible exposure of Teikou and its’ connections. Any clash between _their_ XXX were already suspicious enough.

The only reason that the six under his care remained in Japan was because moving them was a _herculean_ task — they were already getting out to their own whims. ~~With one able to disappear by will.~~ If _**they**_ tried to move them, **_they_** would only lose the only six XXX **_they_** had in the nation.

~~And as long as ** _they_** had the six of them, the seventh was bound to stay.~~

“Send it to me.” Nijimura agreed. Tampered, it may be, but Momoi was _better_ than the databases of the NPA. “And what is this about a game?”

Akashi reports to him the details of how the team that _happened to_ have two foreign XXXs, _happened to_ go against a team that had his brats’ senpai — causing a scene that called Japanese basketball players _monkeys_ (Nijimura had _half_ —a _full_ brain to go beat the _shit_ out of something, and instead settled for glaring at his poor coworker, who intelligently cowered away.) leading to a match against his brats ( _Why the fuck was everyone dragging his brats into their shit? What the fuck. That is his job._ ) making the Japanese XXXs go against the two foreign ones.

Nijimura has the urge to stab something. Until it stops twitching. _Repeatedly_.

“You’re telling me, that all of this just so _happened to_ be?”

“Yes, senpai.” That lil shit had the _audacity_ to be cheeky. “Will you be attending?”

“When is it?” He growled, scribbling the time, day and location that Akashi provided. Something irked him on the date. _Next week?_ “Who is your coach? Captain?”

“Kagetora-san graciously volunteered that myself to be captain.” At least their coach wasn’t entirely _incompetent_ , then. ~~Or with enough consciousness to have self preservation.~~

“Formations?”

Akashi folds his hands, reporting. “Knowing our opponents, they will underestimate us. Therefore, we will most likely have the original five of us for the starting half, before switching myself and Shintarou for Tetsuya and Kagami for a defensive team, if necessary. Though, with Tetsuya’s limits, I would re-enter as well as Shintarou for his threes sometime in the second half.”

Akashi’s plans were sound. _As expected._ But with one flaw.

“And what of the XXXs?” Nijimura questioned, brow furrowing as he looked over the files from Momoi, having arrived with a chime. “One of them has the same doses of Murasakibara and Aomine ~~although not as high~~. Just _one_ of you can’t cover him alone. And if you double team him, you will leave one of them open. Not to mention Kuroko.”

“The formations are for that reason.” Akashi is well aware that he is not talking about that. He had no doubt that the formations would work. He is asking on _what_ Kuroko would do. “Tetsuya and Shintarou will make up for the lack of defense to allow us to catch up.”

“But will it be enough?” Nijimura needled, even though he knew it wouldn’t work. ~~They were too clever for their good.~~

Akashi makes a curious noise. “How _heartbreaking_ that our senpai does not believe in the kouhai he raised.”

The brat knew just as well as he did that it was _because_ he raised them that he is asking.

_“Akashi.”_

Nijimura hears the smirk. “Do not worry, senpai. Tetsuya and I will be there to facilitate _when_ the situation devolves too far.”

That was exactly what he was worried about as Nijimura hears his successor hang up. Eyeing his phone, he briefly considers calling Kuroko before dismissing the thought. Akashi may lie, but Kuroko was too unpredictable.

He knew _too_ much, and in the end, _always_ had a plan that involved absolutely no one in the way that it _mattered_.

Oh, the phantom’s plans may have required pawns. But said pawns’ consent was _never_ a factor, merely ability. Not even Akashi’s awareness was a part of it. Though it was more of a case where often time, Kuroko’s plan amused Akashi, whether it be execution or result.

And sometimes, not even _that_ mattered to the two of them. Only that it _happened_. ~~The way they wanted it to.~~

But this much was clear. His brats had a plan.

And they were playing with _fire_. ~~_Again_.~~

~~And it wasn't them he feared for.~~

* * *

**_Before Strky VS Jabberwock Game_ **

Midorima would be the first to admit it. ~~Not that he would admit it out loud.~~ But the three of them were truly an odd scene to behold in the hidden walls of his home, courtesy of Teikou's funds.

His grandmother was out with Mizuki, buying new clothes for school. Leaving the house free to invite his friends over.

~~If only it were so simple.~~

Murasakibara was eye-level with a separating funnel of a two-layered solution, separating the two layers into differing beakers, goggles on and hands-free of gloves over at the chemistry tables. He, in the other hand, was gloved and extracting free cells into a tube under a hood, vortexing for full homogeneity on the other side of the lab.

Screwing the cap, he replaced it on the rack with eight others, all labeled.

The pink-orange solution was as cloudy as the rest as he handed them to Kuroko, who was silent by his side. Walking over to the incubator, the phantom disappeared to allow them a few minutes to settle.

He felt nothing at the sight of human cells. ~~Even if they were his own.~~

But back to the plight at hand, Midorima searched his memories. ~~As spotty as one under three years of experimentation was.~~

It was not that the three of them had never been alone together.

 _Hell,_ it wasn’t even the first time the three of them were in labs, working together in such a way. ~~Working on things that were far from legal.~~ He was sure that Akashi was aware of Kuroko’s request to be here with Murasakibara in his lab. Though he did not really see why he was here, when all Kuroko really needed was Murasakibara.

He is the one who synthesized them, after all.

“You are quiet, Midorima-kun.” Kuroko says, blue globes blank as he returns to see him working on the next batch of unfrozen cells. “Is there something wrong?”

“No.” He lies. Because he does not know why they are here.

But Kuroko does not call him out on it. Neither does Murasakibara, as he changes the subject.

“Hm. I’m done, Kuro-chin.” The giant calls out as Kuroko nods to see a small dusting of thin needle crystals on the filter paper of the strained solution. _“Be careful.”_

 _Of course he will be._ Midorima thinks forebodingly. The abilities of Murasakibara were _truly_ terrifying. But when executed with Kuroko’s plans and with Akashi’s approved silence, that was when Midorima fully believed the fear for Kuroko was _well-deserved._

_No wonder **they** did not want him anywhere near Momoi._

Nevermind, the shadow’s deep claws in Aomine and Kise. Kuroko held them _all_ in his fingers — and surprisingly, Midorima did not find that minded it. No, in fact he was thankful for it to be the shadow to hold them all his possession.

~~For he does not know what would have happened if it was any different.~~

For all the fixation on being a weapon or monster, that they were, others often overlooked that they were also subjects. Organisms that were tested on. _Nothing more, nothing less._

A realization dawns on him.

The two new labels. Murasakibara. Akashi's silence. The date of _the_ game. _Him_.

_Oh._

So, _that's_ why he is here. Huh.

Emerald eyes focus on the crystals as Kuroko dropped it into one of the test tubes, catching his eye. The label gleamed.

**F2 — No. GBC5 — XXX (T02 — 04/01/20XX)**

"It took you two trials, Midorima-kun. Please do not feel bad. It took me explaining to Murasakibara-kun to catch on."

He frowns. "And Akashi?"

"Akashi-kun knew before I came to Murasakibara-kun in my request. Kise-kun and Aomine-kun will figure it out when I speak to our foreign opponents. And Kagami-kun will figure it out when it makes headlines."

"Momoi?"

The phantom's cheek twitched. "She is the one who provided for the samples."

He does not doubt the shadow. "And the others?"

Kuroko's brow lifted to the ceiling. _Since when did they matter?_

~~They never did.~~

Under the microscope, Midorima watches as the cells begin into inflate like balloons, before bursting open, the tissue broken and frayed as the needle-like crystals shredded innocently through them. Unmoved from the carnage in their wake. Like them.

_Oh, the irony did not escape him._

Kuroko hums while Murasakibara lets out a tch of annoyance. He frowns.

"What number was that one, Kuroko?"

"Thirteen, Midorima-kun."

He hums in reply. Eyeing the remaining vials of silver, he has a feeling that the last was the product they needed to end their little game. _Or rather begin it?_

~~Victory is everything, after all.~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sup.
> 
> Life's hectic and I can't sleep, what else is new? (*>_<*)
> 
> Nijimura knows his brats are up to no good, and knows he can't stop them. He knows that they have already gone too deep and anything he does will only help them. And Kuroko is up to something... Something that requires Murasakibara, Momoi and Midorima... what could it be?
> 
> Akashi knows. Kuroko knows. Momoi knows. Murasakibara knows. And now, so does Midorima. The question is... even if it is known, can anyone stop them?


	27. To Be Worthy - Kise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kise gets a call, and Kagami picks up his shadow (and more than he asks for).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Descriptions of Graphic Violence, Canonical Racism, Implied and Referenced Human Experimentation, Derogatory Terminology / Strong Language, References of Drug Trials, Psychological Manipulation, Mind Games, Referenced Out of Country Exploitation and Manipulation.

_Precious metals._ Kise pondered, as he watched the two XXXs in the surveillance videos. Surrounded by paparazzi, disgusting mortals that reeked of their filth and always vying for the ideal _perfect_. ~~Little did they know.~~

His body was pleasantly sore from their practice, reminiscent of when Teikou training was what the public knew it to be — rigorous and harsh. The hot shower was soothing to his muscles and mind, seeing how Kurokocchi had taken him aside for a bit for special training.

_Zone._

Kise hummed, the screens replaying the tapes, as a hot towel draped over his damp hair. Zone was Kurokocchi’s domain, a right of every basketball player with enough skill and dedication for the sport — whether it was Aominecchi, Kagamicchi, Akashicchi, or Murasakibaracchi — the phantom was _impartial_.

It mattered not whether they were opponents or allies.

The phantom granted it _only_ if they were worthy. No other reason.

And Kise was _finally_ worthy.

His blood roars in his ears, content and all consuming. Was this why he was denied attention all the time, because of the intoxicating euphoria that came from being praised by his teacher?

If so, then he would lovingly accept the abuse to feel this exhilaration once more — he would even _beg_. Kise sighs, a receding warmth in his chest as he returns to himself, amber eyes icy when his phone rings.

_What._

Picking up the offending object, his expression lights up when he sees who is calling him. ~~_That was faster than expected._~~

“Hello?”

“Is this Kise Ryota?” Japanese, polite and formal. _So, this was the blonde. The gorilla seemed to only speak English._

“May I ask who is speaking?” Kise responds ~~like any normal human~~ , while his other hand texts Akashicchi the number from a burner phone in his drawer. ~~_(XXX)-XXX-XXXX._~~

“Nash Gold Jr. I have questions, you see and you _will_ answer them.” Kise rose a brow, glancing at the time.

Two hours since their face-to-face encounter. They were _fast_. ~~But then again, Kurokocchi made it easy for them.~~

“Who the _fuck_ is Kuroko Tetsuya?”

Oh. _Oh._ This monkey had no idea. That was... _almost_ insulting.

“My, you Americans are so impatient.” Kise whined, as his eyes glowed with glee, voice controlled. “I cannot imagine Kurokocchi being so impolite to not properly introduce himself. My apologies for your incompetent hearing due to **_them_** , we never had _that_ particular defect. I am Kise Ryota, No. GBSF8 — XXX. It is nice to meet you _formally_ , No. GBPG4 — XXX-san.”

 _“Y-You..._ _Just_ _how many are there of you?!” ~~That question should be the other way around, considering...~~_

“How disappointing.” Kise clicks his tongue, genuinely so.

_What is this? They were supposed to be a challenge. ~~All the pityingly looks had gotten so old, after all.~~_

“You do not even know about us at all?”

“There are only supposed to be _TWO_ of us left!” The other blonde roared, ignoring the shouts from his side of the conversation. “That’s what **_they_** said! _**They**_ said that only Silver and I were the perfect XXXs! _Who the fuck created you fakes!?”_

Kise laughs, dark and bitter. _“You fool.”_

A hitched breath.

“After all, this time, you _believed_ **_them_ _?_**

You believed it when **_they_** told you how special you were when **_they_** hurt you? You believed **_them_** when _**they**_ told you were unique and the only ones who wielded this power? That if you endured it all, you would be the best? Unbeatable and untouched at the very top? Even after graduation?”

Kise’s breathy whispers turned happy and bright.

 _“How naive.”_ Kise twirls a pen in his hand, blank glare seeing that one of his screens showed that Momoicchi was recording the call. And most likely listening in. ~~He would _hate_ to disappoint.~~ “You have it the other way around. If there are any fakes here, it is _you_ and that _gorilla_ by your side. We are the original XXXs — you were just the lucky monkey whose genetics were compatible with the experimental drugs that they pumped into you to test _. For us._

Or are you so _afraid_ to mention your fallen brethren so badly? Those poor, failed and _fake_ XXXs?”

_“Shut up… Shut up… **SHUT UP!”**_

The blonde could here sharp breaths in between the shouts and with a deeper voice in the background. “There are seven of us, six that you will play against at the game. A _courtesy_ from a kouhai to a senpai. ~~Apes came before us, after all.~~ I look forward to how you will perform for us, _senpai_. _”_

Nash Gold Jr. is still shouting at him, slurs and curses now, as Kise hangs up with a wrinkle in his features. _How indecent._

For the last dregs of the sheep raised for their enhancements be so _primitive_.

~~_But then again, it was fitting._ ~~

After all, precious metals needed to be hammered, melted and cooled before they are valuable.

His phone pinged. _Good job, Kise-kun._

Kise beamed.

* * *

Kagami holds himself. That much must be accredited for as he is standing outside of the institution that holds his shadow. Kuroko is as evasive as ever — answering his questions, but _not_. And the therapy does not seem to change that. But he is aware that his shadow is receiving the help he needs.

But whether it would be effective, he does not know. ~~He doubts it.~~

Noting that his friend is unusually late, Kagami scans his surroundings, nurses and doctors filtering through the doors with patients, some sedated to relax and others somewhat lucid. But no Kuroko.

Deciding to go in, he does so, asking for Kuroko. Signing in, he walks to Kuroko’s room after his bag and phone.

~~No potential weapons were allowed.~~

Surprised to not see Miyu to greet him, he dismisses the thought.

Coming to the room, Kagami freezes when he sees that the door is closed, _no_ , locked.

Kuroko’s door is _never_ closed. He wasn’t _allowed_ to have it closed. Much less locked.

He wasn’t allowed to be alone. _Ever_.

He is on unofficial suicide watch.

~~All of them were.~~

(Coach stares at them with dead eyes that looked filmier than Kuroko's. Kagami was _terrified_.

"K-Kuroko-kun... _the_ report... it said that _all_ of them had at one point _attempted_ to hurt themselves."

The next thing he remembers, there was a hole in the wall that seemed to be small compared to the one in his heart and his knuckles were a bloody mess.)

Kagami’s heartbeat thunders in his chest as he stumbles clumsily on his feet, swaying dangerously. He needed to move. To get a doctor. Nurse. _Someone_. Anyone who get this _god-damned_ door open.

However, before Kagami can panic any further, a hand grabs his shoulder, startling him.

His garnet eyes meet blank, but tinged with slight confusion, baby-blue that belonged to _one_ person — _Kuroko_. Dressed in patient robes, the phantom was being escorted by Miyu, who was holding a tray of food.

“Kagami-kun? Are you alright?”

Kagami swallowed his panic as it slowly subsided. Kuroko was _okay_. He was _fine_.

 _“Y-Yeah._ It’s just… you took a while… and you weren’t in your room… the door is never closed…”

Those eyes flashed with understanding but saved him the face. “Miyu-san was just taking me to Dr. Nagisa for a check-up. For the events of last night.”

_Jabberwock assholes. Dumbass shadow. Bruised Kuroko. Do not punch the assholes. Even if it is fucking deserved._

Kagami straightened with concern, eyes scanning the shadow. “Is everything okay?”

“Nothing to worry about, Kagami-kun.” Miyu piped in, smiling softly. “It is all standard procedure here. Kuroko-san is fine and looks like any bruises that he may have received will be healing nicely as long as he is careful.”

“That’s good.” Kagami smiled before looking to Kuroko. “You need to change, right? I’ll be outside.”

Kuroko nods, entering the his room with Miyu.

When Kagami is out of gone, Miyu locks the door, her former soft demeanor gone as she pulls on a pair of gloves, brown eyes cold. From under her bed, she pulls out a case. Opening it, she rose a brow. All of the syringes are filled but one that is visibly empty.

~~So, he only gave them each half a dose.~~

She does not know if it is merciful or out of caution. ~~It is almost certainly the latter.~~

“It appears you were successful, Kuroko-sama.”

Kuroko pulls on a shirt and basketball shorts as he nods. “Please be careful in getting rid of it and sending the others to Murasakibara-kun within a reasonable time frame, Miyu-san.”

Miyu bows. “Yes, Kuroko-sama. Have a great practice."

"Thank you, Miyu-san. _Victory_ … is everything, after all.”

Kagami, having overheard it all, runs before Kuroko can see him in the halls with only one thought.

_Teikou... you never left, did you, Kuroko?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi. Hope you all are healthy.
> 
> Kise is next and it looks like he knows more than Nash thought he did. That there was more than just Silver and Gold. That they were just guinea pigs for the six of them. That just who were the fakes, and who was real.
> 
> And btw Kagami knows that there is something more to this. He instinctively knows that there is something wrong with Kuroko and his friends, tho, not exactly what it is. So, he is keeping his distance and being careful not to overstep. But the question is that can he do it? 
> 
> Life is kinda... ugh rn so, yeah. Just... a bunch of little things going on and too much to think about.
> 
> Oh, and yes, the chapter count has been updated. 34 chapters is the main story. After I have posted all of them, I will place a Next Work with the contents of the entire Teikou Report that you guys have seen excerpts of. With the highlighted treatments with the details and all. (It is basically my outline of the plot. LOL)


	28. Within Reason - Aomine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aomine speaks to Silver while Akashi teaches politics.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Descriptions of Graphic Violence, Canonical Racism, Implied and Referenced Human Experimentation, Derogatory Terminology / Strong Language, References of Drug Trials, Psychological Manipulation, Mind Games, Referenced Out of Country Exploitation and Manipulation.

Aomine shifts, the concrete under him solid and the ball under the crook of his arm, light and familiar. He knows where Satsuki and Tetsu are. What they are doing. That Murasakibara and Midorima are with his shadow. That he and Akashi are the _same_ here. While Kise is doing his part.

Unlike Akashi, their skills are required. _~~For now.~~_

He is not needed _just yet._

Akashi… is _always_ last for a reason. ~~_Just like how Tetsu was always first._~~

It has always been that way, whether it was Teikou, basketball, or even just in telling everything — before everything came to be, there had to be _nothing_ in the first place. To fill the void, otherwise, everything would have been nothing.

“Who the fuck are you?” The English flows like rapids into his mind, harsh and too fast to understand. He knew the language of business but not as well as the others — Satsuki, Akashi, and Kise who were fluent; Midorima and Murasakibara who were familiar with the medical terms, he stuck with the curses, threats and begging.

~~Because that was all that ** _they_** were ever able to get out.~~

Aomine does not turn. He always knows his surroundings. _Always_. ~~Because he can’t afford to not.~~

“Don’t _fucking_ speak to me in English.” He scoffs, turning finally. Jason Silver. Or otherwise known as No. GBC8 — XXX. “You and that blonde bastard weren’t so stupid to come to a foreign country and not know the language, are you? The people in white in your country are not _that_ dense, are they?”

_“Who the fuck are you?!” God, has this moron been eating dial tones? He is only capable of one fucking question._

Aomine smirks feral at the stiffened form of the darker, taller and meatier young man, ignoring the question. “For all of your enhancements, you are not very bright, are you?”

Pride shot, Silver charges at him.

Aomine blinks, dodging. _Ho, so he really was injected with Se. ~~Just like him.~~_

Sidestepping the swift reaction to his dodge, Aomine recoils at the near grab, before quickly backflipping to the half-court line. Silver heaved under the hoop, deep and angry breaths while Aomine was unfazed, sapphire eyes cold. A substantial distance separated them.

“But that’s fine. You’re similar to me.” ~~_Those Je drugs never were compatible with me to begin with anyway._~~ “Not very bright, only good for one thing.”

~~_To get rid of targets._ ~~

“You’re one of them.” Silver declared. “One of those _monkeys_ that Nash called. The seven XXXs here in this tiny country.”

Aomine rolled his eyes, steely. “No shit, you dumb fuck.”

“Didn’t know that there were more of us. What the _fuck_ did they put in you?”

“None of your fucking business.” Aomine retorted, eyes lazy as he made for the exit. 

_“Where the fuck are you going?!"_

Aomine ignores the question. “What gives you the right to call us monkeys, you piece of shit?”

"Because seeing you and your people try to play basketball is so fucking dumb. Like a bunch of monkeys bumbling around for a ball.” Silver sneered, eyeing the ball in his arm. “Monkeys should know better than to play with humans. _Know your fucking place, you monkey!”_

The ace was silent, steps slow as he paused at the threshold of the court. “You’re _human?”_ ~~_A human…_~~

Jason froze. Cold pinpricks danced over his spine despite the humid night. What the fuck. Was… was that _fucking_ fear? _He didn’t fear jack shit! **He was the best!**_ _What the fuck did he have to fear?!_ “Yes, I’m _fucking_ human, you monkey. _Don’t you fucking know that humans are above monkeys?!”_

“And did you know, _human?”_ The smaller man whispered.

Coal eyes met those sapphire ones.

There was no life, or mercy in them. Only cold sadism.

Jason _flinched_.

~~He didn't know if this fucker saw.~~

“That you are not facing monkeys, but _monsters?”_

But the monster in those eyes, most certainly, _did_. 

* * *

**Before Strky VS Jabberwock Game**

His room was quiet in the Kyoto night, as Akashi conversed with his friends, each with their respective cameras on. It was several days after the trial and each of them were being accommodated in an institution — that shouldn’t have allowed them to have access to a laptop. ~~But then again, it was not their fault that the institutions in question had staff from Teikou, was it?~~

It takes a single question from Kuroko to begin it all.

“What do we know of other XXXs outside of us, Momoi-san?”

Akashi blinks, pausing in polishing his shogi pieces. The question is innocent enough, but the speaker and the timing counter it. _Unexpected, as usual of Tetsuya._

“Are you talking about the foreign XXXs, Kurokocchi?” Kise questions, his amber eyes curious. Murasakibara pauses in his experiments while Aomine actually sits up. Midorima is paying full attention and Momoi blinks in surprise.

“Yes, Kise-kun.”

“Why the sudden interest?” Midorima voices all of their thoughts.

Akashi recalls their conversation before their institutionalization and knows exactly why Kuroko is interested in the foreign XXXs, but the question remains. _Why now?_

It was just after their sentencing — they haven’t yet maximized in the sentencing entirely just yet. ~~The embassies of Russia were being rather stubborn to give them the illegal substances for Shirogane to dispose of their parents.~~

Heterochromic eyes study the shadow, ignoring most of the conversation which evolved to listing of all the XXXs in the differing nations under contract with Teikou, courtesy of Momoi.

As a school policy and unspoken taboo, if there were ever to be an instance that any foreign XXXs were to encounter one another, the XXXs were to be sedated _immediately_. ~~Costs and consequences be damned.~~

Therefore, even if they were mad, they did not seek trouble unnecessarily. ~~Not entirely, anyway.~~

~~But that was when Teikou controlled them.~~

Now was an entirely different circumstance. But if they were to complete preparations in time with the arrival of the foreign XXXs, it would be likely that most of them would be out of the institutions by then.

Failing the need for the _‘rally effect’_ of their invited foreign XXXs. If they were to be released from the madhouse anyway, there was no need for foreign sheep to take up room.

 _So, there had to be another reason._ Akashi holds his red queen, humming.

 _Or the_ _original one — only it was centered on himself and Tetsuya_. To get the both of them out.

Because with all the power of Teikou, for Akashi Seijuurou and Kuroko Tetsuya to be deemed of sound mind was an impossible feat.

But the government can be swayed. ~~Because it is run by humans.~~

Civil war occurs in times of peace, when minor problems can be snuffed and nitpicked. But when a foreign power threatens their way of life, _suddenly_ , the national squabble is water under the bridge, as formerly opposed sides ally to take down the foolish usurper that is clearly not their people. Such is the _‘rally effect’._

Making use of human prioritizing and short attentions.

~~Such as how mad their weaponry were.~~

The question now, however, is which of these XXXs are doable scapegoats?

They needed to be formidable. Questionably stronger than them. Yet at the same time, not. Because they _needed_ to win. Otherwise, it was all for naught. All of this planning, a high risk gamble but for great results if it succeeds — _as expected of his phantom._

Tetsuya was always so comfortable in the shadows.

He does not even have to bring up going against these foreign XXXs because Aomine is already scoffing on how every one of the foreigners was no match for them. Which is true.

~~Since most of them are either dead or unlucky enough to be alive under ** _their_** thumb.~~

It makes Momoi find one that had gone through the same enhancements as him and more experimental mixes in America. That brings in Murasakibara and Kise, who are interested to hear more. And suddenly, they are conversing how to bring them into their soil.

“It is too obvious if we just invite them to go against us directly.” Midorima scowls, but his twitching fingers give him away. “Besides, we are not _technically_ a team anymore.”

“So, we need them to be strong enough to indirectly bring us into this.” Kise muses, handsome features frowning in the luminescent light. "Indirect... yet not so much that we wouldn't be the first choice."

“Hm.” Murasakibara sounds, a lolly in his mouth. _“Senpai.”_

It clicks almost simultaneously. Akashi coos softly, proud. All of his pieces are so _perfect_.

“Satsuki. What was that team Imayoshi was in again?”

The grin on her lips matches theirs. _“Team Strky.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They said they were humans, guys. ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ
> 
> Yes, GoM invited Jabberwock here and it is expected by now, no?  
> And for why they needed them to get Akashi and Kuroko out is, because, unlike the others, Akashi and Kuroko are clearly the masterminds behind them - the rest of them are intelligent too, don't get me wrong - but it is them who actually plan and spur the others into action respectively.
> 
> There is no government that would just let such dangerous individuals free. But... desperate times call for desperate measures (the rally effect is a real thing, sometimes intentional, sometimes not). Not to mention that while it is good and all that their teams sympathize with them, there is a line between sympathy and perceived incompetence. Like the previous chapter said, they are all on suicide watch and were even pardoned (partially) because of all they suffered.
> 
> But the last thing they need is for people to think of them incompetent and believe them unable. And what better way to do that than to destroy something that they suffered for?
> 
> Their senpai are simply collateral. Nothing more, nothing less.


	29. Alice - Murasakibara

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Powdered sugar and senpai... why does this sound familiar?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Implied and Referenced Human Experimentation, Strong Language, References of Drug Trials, Psychological Manipulation, Mind Games, Mental Issues, Branding, Objectification of Human Beings.

The next time they speak is before the game, before the doors are opened for the audience to file in. Murasakibara gauges them with half-lidded eyes, only two keeping his attention. He does not need to speak to them like Mine-chin or Kise-chin.

~~Or even Kuro-chin.~~

He is not one for words — crass yet knowledgable of when certain words were needed like Mine-chin, eloquent yet snidely resentful with such contrast that reactions are too instinctual to mask like Kise-chin, or even the polite monotone of Kuro-chin that sounded like a bored deity smiting another insect — it is not _him_.

Instead, he is one for symbols.

His words belie his passion for basketball. He loves it enough to be worthy for Zone. That speaks to him more than any words that Kuro-chin had lectured him of — for his arrogance and talents — he had thought that the world of basketball was no longer his. Because **_they_** took it from him.

Kuro-chin gave it back. ~~_And they took Teikou from **them**._~~

He is a child. He does not think too much on such complicated things, it is too much work. Aka-chin and Kuro-chin are better at it than he is anyway.

So, when he sees Nash Gold Jr. and Jason Silver, he turns away — _unintimidated_ — the new jersey hiding the glowing numbers under his skin. ~~Unlike theirs.~~

Instead, he reads the team name on their back. _Jabberwock._

The Jabberwocky.

The chained beast of Alice in Wonderland, that the Red Queen threatened her people with to control them, until the White Queen’s champion rose to challenge and slew it with the Vorpal Sword. A blade commissioned to slay that one beast only.

Was the Vorpal Sword only worth such a deranged beast's life? ~~That's it?~~

And when the champion came home, Murasakibara wondered, were they greeted with cheers or jeers?

For the champion was stained red, marring the White Queen’s hands red. _It was all so red._

~~_Like the Red Queen._ ~~

Did the White Queen see, he wondered, how she had become a _red_ Queen of her own making, with her own Jabberwock?

The only difference was that the beast was named Alice. ~~Because red was so hard to get off of white.~~

~~He would know.~~

But there laid another question to the Alice.

_Was she the ~~right~~ Alice?_

A mad girl who fell down a hole, one day.

~~Like how five boys fell into a hole to find another one, _already there_ , one day.~~

“Atsushi.”

Murasakibara blinked, looking down to see Akashi before him, eyes unreadable. “Aka-chin.”

Soft hands stroke his hands, fingers circling soft ovals over his large palms. It didn't matter. The blood on them would never come off. And that's also why it mattered. ~~Because those hands had _just_ as much on them.~~

“It’s just powdered sugar, Atsushi. It’s all just powdered sugar. _Remember, Atsushi?”_

“Mhm.”

And they were all Alice, holding their Vorpal Sword on their backs, facing the Jabberwock.

But the question remained, _who_ was the _right_ Alice?

~~_Was there even one to begin with?_ ~~

* * *

It is nostalgic as Nijimura watches beside Shirogane and Haizaki, as the five open the first quarter and interchange through the game as planned — he sees the two XXXs immediately. Unlike the hidden branding on _**their**_ XXXs, the foreigners had theirs in blatant sight.

The blonde on his dorsal right arm and the silver one on his left — two halves of a whole.

His brats were different. ~~Nurtured with another philosophy.~~

Murasakibara’s gleaned on the back of his shoulders like a burden just as Midorima’s slithered down his vertebrae, from the nape of his neck to the tail bone. Aomine’s, on the small of his back, danced under the fabric with winks of skin; juxtaposed to his light, was Kuroko’s, which laid on just under his collar because if they wanted to see the brand, they would have needed to see _him_ first. Kise bore his on the very middle of his back, curling around his torso to his ribs in a painful kiss while Akashi wore his on the back of his neck, outlined faintly under the skin and just above his chip.

He does not know where Momoi's is. ~~He does not know if he wants to know.~~

His brats called them brands on their skin, scars that summed their suffering into _one_ name.

Nijimura saw them for what they were — a barcode meant for an _object_.

~~Gods above, this is _why_ he didn't ponder this shit. He always wants to _destroy_ something in the end.~~

~~And sometimes, he did.~~

But at least, Teikou had the mind to brand his brats in places that were easy to hide. The two other XXXs had them so blatant. But in all fairness, it was not too far off for the common eye to believe them to be tattoos.

Regardless, Nijimura had a bad feeling.

He eyes Murasakibara’s elation, seeing him exerting _effort_ despite being on defense. Could it be that one of the XXX had enough drugs to go against him? _What a monster_ , Nijimura shakes to himself. Murasakibara had no rivals nor enemies other than **_them_**.

~~Then why was he muttering ‘powdered sugar’, like back then?~~

He glances at the empty seat that had a towel scribed with ‘Midorima', a remote on it. Oha-Asa deemed that Cancer was first today and none of his brats were ranked low.

~~They weren’t low on days that went _wrong_ neither.~~

Their ace dunks the ball formlessly, true to his roots. Weaving through the opponents like stone statues. He can see the bodies filled with blood, gushing and pooling in Aomine's wake. Like he had years ago.

~~Why did Aomine look like he had then, untouched and cold to the figurative blood on his hands, even when no blood had spilled?~~

It took him a moment. But he meets Kuroko’s eyes, who was already looking at him. He could have sworn the phantom's gaze was fixed on his current light, a moment ago.

~~And they tell him nothing and everything, just like back then.~~

Kise is the most dynamic and alluring to the eye, this game no different. Every move is graceful and an echo to a fluid master as the Zone jolts around him.

~~Yet was that a glow of sadism in his cadence like all those years ago?~~

Red passes through the defense seamlessly, leading his team to his command. Their captain was fine. Akashi's heterochromic eyes were under his control now.

~~Which _Akashi_ was he referring to?~~

Despite it all — the hope in the air, the tension and pride that _hung_ in the balance — Nijimura could not believe that his brats were playing for their senpai’s pride.

They cared. _He knew._ ~~He was alive.~~

_But for senpai that they had only known for a little over a year?_

_They had grown._ He would be the _first_ to shout that to the heavens. But...

 ~~ _They weren't human._ ~~ ~~~~

Not when they all _screamed_ something else.

Not when it screamed their first group treatment.

Not when it screamed the Crimson Storm.

Not when it screamed the Teikou Report.

 _Something_ was wrong. _Something_ was going to go wrong. There was _something_ wrong.

~~_There **had** to be._ ~~

Nijimura taps his former head coach, who cracks open a eye, a serious break in his demeanor. “Nijimura-kun?”

 _Hold the fuck up._ Nijimura froze. _Today was—!_

“Sir—“

It was then that an ear-splitting crack echoed in the stadium. The very same moment Nijimura realizes _what_ day it is.

It was the day of the final championship in Teikou.

~~_What if, just what if... there was **no** right Alice?_ ~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *LAUGHS IN EVIL* (ﾟ⊿ﾟ)
> 
> Double update cuz I said so. The next one is probs tomorrow (I don't promise shit.) but we'll see. ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ
> 
> But here is Murasakibara, who asks the question I have been thinking the entire time I watched the Alice in Wonderland movies. (What makes someone the right type of person? What does it matter if she is not the right Alice?) And I don't necessarily think that the White Queen is better than the Red Queen. Like don't get me wrong. The Red Queen is bonkers. But the White Queen is manipulative, while the Red Queen is upfront rather than planning in the background, which I find more... dangerous.
> 
> And we know where the boys are branded now. All on the back for the reasons in the chapter and also because... back tattoos are hot, okay? σ(≧ε≦ｏ)
> 
> Nijimura-senpai, what did you expect? (•́⌄•́๑)૭✧


	30. In the End - Nash Gold Jr.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nijimura sees. And now, so does Nash Gold Jr.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Descriptions of Graphic Violence, Canonical Racism, Implied and Referenced Human Experimentation, Derogatory Terminology / Strong Language, References of Drug Trials, Syringes, Psychological Manipulation, Mind Games, Referenced Out of Country Exploitation and Manipulation.

He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t hear anything but the blood roaring in his ears as he stares at Murasakibara’s downed form. Limp and unmoving. _He can't fucking breathe._

One of his brats. His most strong and tallest man-child, who whined for sweets. Under the basketball hoop.

Not again. ~~_Please not again._~~

Suddenly, he was in middle school again.

His brats were all pale, wide-eyed, and fingers close to crossing a line ~~they ran through before he can stop them in time~~ — innocent children, too young to be so scarred. Instead of red-white jerseys, his brats were draped in white, drowning in it as they colored the court with red. All to defend their fallen center. _In a sea of red._

~~_Who was to say this was to be any different?_ ~~

A callused hand snaps him back to reality.

He sees.

Murasakibara is not crouching on the floorboards ~~with mangled remains of a man.~~ Akashi and the rest of his brats were pale ~~but not covered in blood.~~ Another one was there, outside of Kise. The only thing that is the same is that Kuroko is beside Murasakibara, his gaze ignorant of anyone else.

That is why, despite the differences to _then_ , he is still tense.

“They will be fine.” Shirogane lies. Haizaki is _very_ still beside him. All three of them know it’s a _fucking_ lie. And like hell, he’s going to sit around twiddling his thumbs about it like he all those years.

When they declare a time-out, Nijimura makes a bee-line for his brats.

Murasakibara is being looked over by the doctors on standby. He does not miss the flinch from the center. His heart lurches at the sight. ~~It could have been planned too, like Haizaki.~~

Akashi is by his side, words soft yet eyes heterochromic with promised retaliation, as they meet his. He reads the captains lips. ~~_T037._~~ Nijimura knows Haizaki sees it too from his flinch.

Kise wears his trepidation face, so clearly worried for his comrade that he couldn’t have been anything but sincere. But Nijimura sees it. How the shoulders do not shake as uncontrollably, how the lips tremble in controlled pauses, and how the ambers within his skull glowed with more than just cold anger. ~~Is it real, was anything real anymore?~~

Midorima is beside Kuroko, the former scolding the doctor to cast the bone even though most of those who mattered, knew it would be healed soon enough. ~~The pretense to play human, Nijimura chuckles to himself.~~

Kuroko, in the other hand, bears his mask, untouched and almost serene.

Nijimura was fooled once. And has long ago dropped the notion that Kuroko Tetsuya was harmless.

The way he reins in two fearsome beasts in the form of a growling Aomine and a snarling Kagami that he had heard so much of, should be enough of a testament to any foolhardy buffoon.

Jason Silver is no such fool.

But Nash Gold Jr. is.

He _sees_ Kuroko, for what he is.

The possessive darkness that dwelled in that delicate flower. The sinful poison that coursed through his veins, toxic and corrosive — all-consuming under the alabaster white skin.

And he _knows_ he has no chance. Against such a monster in plain sight. _But has to try, doesn't he?_

~~Like the fool he is.~~

But Nijimura is unsympathetic. Because he has other concerns.

 _He can see Kuroko._ But not Momoi.

~~_Where the fuck was Momoi?_ ~~

* * *

Upon the fallen golden confetti of his defeat, Nash Gold Jr. feels his name burning on his flesh, a sign he had overdone it, alone in the cleared court. He was waiting for Silver. ~~Because he is the only one left.~~

Who understands. The only one who carried the same burdens as he, even though he was stupid and rash. He was the only one left who went through what he did. It does not matter that they did it for power. To never be weak again. All that mattered was that he was still here, with him.

And no one, whether it be the world, **_them_** or Kiseki will take Silver from him.

~~_His other half._ ~~

“You play well.”

It is not Silver. But it’s not the one he expects neither.

Instead, it is the red captain, Akashi. With a smile of a serene god, he is benevolent, unfeeling and superior. Nash Gold Jr. does not believe it. And recoils at the sight of the Emperor Eye.

“Thank you.” Nash replies polite. But his jade eyes betray his hostile thoughts.

“Not at all.” Akashi waves aside, as if his words were too weighted to be a gift bestowed upon mortals. “It is humbling to give credit where it is due. I must thank you for accepting our invitation so predictably.”

Cold seeps into Nash. His jade eyes dart around them. The stadium is dark outside of the outdoor halls. They are alone.

“It was Tetsuya’s idea.” Akashi continues, unperturbed, his steps squeaking against the wooden floor boards. “Our senpai had just released a report, informing the world of our treatments to the public."

Nash froze. The Teikou Report, he heard about it briefly. The parents were sentenced to be guilty and their children protected under new guardians and the services that they needed.

The parents died behind bars. Naturally.

No one believed it.

“It was amusing. Taking over Teikou. And hunting them down. But we realized something. Or rather, Tetsuya mentioned that our takeover may have been hasty.” Nash was silent. Stiffening at the mention of _that_ XXX. He remembers that Akashi is also an XXX, but so is he. “We underestimated how much we were treasured. We were suddenly fragile. Treated kindly. Without prompt and with sympathy.”

Akashi frowns. It is a small thing. Like a master who is mildly displeased by a servant’s minor mistake — so _insignificant_ yet worthy enough for the master to personally rid himself of. “By the release of The Teikou Report. We gave off the presumption that we were beings to be pitied.”

_This problem of theirs had nothing to do with him._

“Oh? But it does.”

The golden eye stares into him, dead and calm. Nash can only stare back, stunned. Whether it be the unchanged tone of banality or the fact that his mind was read so accurately, he doesn't know. “We needed an obstacle. A scapegoat. How convenient was it that the two of you had recently graduated?”

_~~No. No no. Nonononononono... This couldn't... be happening!~~_

“And for it to so happen to come to Japan for your presentation? For it to be our beloved senpai that you graced your arrogance over?” Akashi’s voice has dropped into a whisper.

Yet it is as loud as gunshots in the stadium to Nash. He falls, his knees thudding on the wood, sharp breaths through his teeth as Akashi's voice echoes. “Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three is an enemy action. Surely, of this, you are aware?”

 _Ha._ Nash felt amusement overtake him before laughing. Akashi is unmoved. “…Am I going to die?”

Akashi gives him an innocent yet incredulous look. “Of course, you will. All of us will.”

“But you will not die today, _monkey_.” Another voice joins them.

It is the green-haired one, his hands bandaged, coming behind the redhead.

Ice gnawed at his spine, looking up at them.

“Wrong, Midorima. You guys said you were _human_ , didn’t you?”

A light flashed on over at the bleachers, to reveal the tanned ace stood over Silver’s sluggish body, with the blonde smirking beside him, a hand over his thick neck, a syringe in his other. _When the fuck did they get there?!_

“Please hold him down, Murasakibara-kun.”

_Fuck._

Large hands bolt him to the court faster than he can react, their strength as wielding as adamantine, his face is buried to the wood and knees kissing the rest as blood pounds in his ears.

The giant. He had him.

_How the fuck did he miss the fucking giant?!_

They were going to die. Both of them.

“Please do not say such things. Midorima-kun has already told you, you will not die today.”

The phantom says as he crouches, a syringe in hand. It is full of silver. He knows _that_ drug.

 _“C11.”_ He manages to hiss.

“Not quite.” Akashi chuckles somewhere above. “This is a different solution of sorts, altered for XXXs. But just for you and your companion, we have named it, C15. A collaboration of Atsushi and Shintarou’s efforts. Tested and administered to you by our very own Tetsuya.”

The fog in his mind cleared enough for him to catch it. _“…Administered?” As in, it was already in him?_

The phantom tilts his head as he holds up a hand. “Our first meeting, Gold-san.”

Memories flash over his eyes as he registers the sight of the needles under the nails of that dainty hand.

The same hand that caught Silver’s leg when he kicked him. The very same hand that rested over his when he grabbed him.

“You… that first night…!”

That was why he was so distracted. That was why he couldn't win. That was why he couldn't hear the giant behind him. And why Silver was so easily taken down. _He had been set up._

The same smile graces those lips, reminiscent of a week ago. _~~It seemed so long ago.~~_

“You will be in our care, Gold-san.”

~~_He had no chance. From the very beginning._ ~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AH. (゜▽゜;)
> 
> So, to clear up what happened. 
> 
> Kuroko asked Midorima and Murasakibara to develop a fail-safe for Gold and Silver were to overpower them - which is C15, which was what Murasakibara created and Kuroko needed Midorima to test on their cells (and Gold/Silver) for potency. And they name the drug - C15, courtesy of Kuroko's Teikou jersey number. (C11 is named for Kuroko's Seiren number.) And we have seen it before, when Kagami went to pick up Kuroko, Miyu sees he only gave 'them' (being Gold/Silver) half a dose.
> 
> Kuroko gives it to them on his chapter (Chapter 25), as hinted above. And that's just in case they were to lose. Because C11 is more of a sedative. While C15 is more of a slow-acting paralytic, dulling their senses and all but still fully conscious.
> 
> Huh. Where's Momoi, guys? (゜-゜)


	31. White - Jason Silver

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason Silver has a conversation. While Momoi dresses in white. Once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Descriptions of Graphic Violence, Implied and Referenced Death, Implied and Referenced Torture, References to Amputation, Electrical Torture, Canonical Racism, Implied and Referenced Human Experimentation, Derogatory Terminology / Strong Language, References of Drug Trials, Syringes, Psychological Manipulation, Mind Games, Referenced Out of Country Exploitation and Manipulation.

Jason Silver awakens slowly, his eyelids twitching lethargically. _Where… What…?_

“Good morning.”

Flinching, he widened his eyes to find himself in a white room, every limb chained the floor at just above every joint ~~to prevent him from successfully amputating them off~~ , on a cot. On the other side of the room, was the captain at the game he had ~~lost~~ , hands folded over his lap… _fuck this shit. Where the fuck was he? And how did he get here?!_

“You are in Teikou. And you had arrived here, courtesy of your government.”

_“What the fuck are you on about?!”_

“Daiki mentioned your penchant for rudeness.” The heterochromic captain hummed, as Silver resisted the urge to cower at the sharpening of that gaze, no matter how terrifying. _He was obeyed no one! No one but his other half._ “I presumed that you were at least competent in speech. _How disappointing.”_

 _Oh, **fuck** this bastard to hell and back._ Jason snarled. _“Fuck you!”_

Instead, the captain smirked, amused.

Then, it came.

The sharp bite of blood filled his mouth from his mangled tongue at the shock, as the walls echoed the pained screams of Jason Silver, teeth reflexively biting into the muscle — the nerve endings of every single one of his motor neurons seemed to be going off in overdrive, shocking his entire system.

It wasn’t electricity, it wasn’t numbing or dark. He knew how it felt to electrocuted. This felt so much _worse_.

No, it was burning, stinging, and _melting_ him from the inside out — _bulldozing_ through his veins with intent to inflict as much excruciating pain as possible.

After years that were mere seconds, he found himself face-planted on the sheets, drooling and his body utterly exhausted as it twitched in the residues of the punishment.

But somehow, his ears were still working.

“My _,_ how kind for you to have never felt the effects of the chip in the base of your neck. Your caretakers must have been patient and fond of you.” That bastard chuckled. He wanted to bash his _fucking_ face in but Silver didn’t even have the energy to even move his fingers, much less hurt anyone. “We were less fortunate. For, you must understand, we were not as compliant as you.”

“But enough of the past.” The bastard smiled softly, crossing his legs. It was then he noticed what he was wearing. A pressed burgundy shirt under a black lab coat, probably more expensive than any average Joe’s entire life earnings, as black shoes shined with a polish at the end of black trimmed pants. A pair of lab goggles rested on growing red bangs, unstained. “You are No. GBC8 — XXX, File 013. Have and will only be referred as such.”

He had a _fucking_ name. _And he was to be addressed as such!_

~~_He wasn't just a fucking file anymore, godsfuckingdamnit!_ ~~

“You believed your plans to be flawless. By exposing your prowess and your enhanced skill in basketball, you believed that with the public eye, your government couldn’t take you down. Not without risking their own precious reputations.”

~~Just like how we used the public to our whims.~~

The bastard continued. “But you overstepped. You grew arrogant. Bigoted that you would be untouched even in foreign lands, just because you had evaded one superpower. That you had escaped. _Intact_.”

~~You are not minors. You didn't kill _ **them**_ over and over. You had limited information. _And yet, you dare to covet freedom?_~~

Sliver was breathing harshly, he realized of himself. His fingers twitched. “That is why you are here. In our version within Japan, known as Teikou. Because you were _arrogant_ enough to meet us.”

~~To have the arrogance to make _us_ move to your whim. No matter how momentarily. How dare you.~~

“W-We didn’t come… _f-fuck_ , here for… _you!”_

“Not consciously.” The bastard acknowledged. “But you bit the bait nonetheless, unaware of the trap we had set for you. You could have easily played a fair game with our senpai, and took your victory with your laurels humbly. Instead, you trampled on their pride. _We didn't force that._ Merely predicted your unsightly behavior.”

~~Innocent sheep being led into a cage by a shepherd. Unaware and blind to their own slaughter.~~

“W-why…?”

_Why are we here? What purpose do we serve here?_

“Your address should have made it obvious. You are a subject here.” The bastard shrugs. He _fucking_ shrugs, his smirk wide. “I believe you can guess why, No. GBC8 — XXX. _”_

Silver hears the words that are not said. Words that he did not understand until now.

_You don't really graduate from there. No one does, Silver._

“Your people in white are aware.” _Then… that meant… no one was coming._

The bastard fucking clapped. Obnoxiously slow. As he sees the realization in his eyes. And he couldn’t do a _fucking_ thing.

“Yes." The bastard confirms for him. "Your government has given up on you, by essentially giving you to us. Not for a lack of trying, but they will be thoroughly cooperative in relinquishing the ownership to Teikou. Our manager, you see, is _very_ convincing."

Jason stares, numb. Unable to move as Akashi sighs, almost sincerely, his heterochromic eyes melancholy. It's too sharp, too vulnerable and too cruel to be real.

"A shame that you two were the only ones left after all those test trials. But do not fret, **_they_** will still have Atsushi’s early research. **_They_** will find more.”

~~You will be replaced soon enough.~~

“…W-What… will h-happen to _us-s?_ _N-Nash…?”_ He asks. ~~_Even though he already knows._~~

Akashi Seijuurou smiles widely, mocking and sinister.

“You will be in our care.” 

* * *

Nijimura does not find Momoi. _She finds him._

Knowing that he is trying to find her.

She doesn’t even bother try to hide her intentions. Dressed in all black, her pink hair is pinned into a tight bun with a facial mask pooling at her neck. Two tranquilizers are strapped to her holsters, loaded. Replaced, actually from the two empty canisters on her side.

She wasn’t Akashi, Midorima, or even him when it came to having impeccable aim — but she was _enough_.

And combined with Kuroko erasing her, it was _guaranteed_.

“You didn’t miss.” He states. Because it’s a fucking statement. There was no question. She got them. No question. “When everyone was distracted by Murasakibara.”

Momoi nods. 

“Why?”

And that was truly the million dollar question. _Why did Kuroko erase her? For what?_

“Nijimura-senpai,” Momoi begins, her tone too detached for comfort. “Those inferior goods did have some value to **_them_** of the American government. We must respect that much of **_them_**.”

~~Respect was not the fucking word for the can of worms that was the people in white.~~

“Status?”

One of **_them_** wasn’t dead. Nijimura was sure of that much.

“It has been two hours since one of _**them**_ have been released.” _It was textbook Teikou, after all._

For the dead did not speak. The dead could not tell their superiors of their losses of XXXs. The dead could not warn the world of the actions of the Kiseki no Sedai of Teikou. They needed **_them_** alive for that.

But only one sufficed. ~~Because two mouths could confuse them.~~ On telling the horrors he ~~was allowed to~~ live through.

To tell how Akashi took down one of **_their_** XXX with mere words, how Murasakibara had created C15 with Midorima, how Kise and Aomine played with the other XXX like it was easy prey, how Momoi had **_their_** lives by her fingertips the entire game, and how Kuroko planned it all.

~~If ** _they_** were able to see that far.~~

_“Momoi.”_ He says, exhausted in his bones. She looks at him with a tilt of her head, bangs spilling out of her bun.

 _Almost._ He sighs. _He could almost fool himself._

But the eyes were never the same. ~~They never would be ever again, because of him.~~

Each word is as agonizing as the memories, searing into his mind as he seals the fate of two more souls for the ones he could not save. ~~Because he knows he has no other choice.~~

“Remember to wear white.”

Momoi smiles. He doesn't have to turn to see it. Because he finds himself, mirroring it to her, bitter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it just me, or is it that the Trigger Warnings are getting longer and longer? (・_・ヾ  
> I swear, it's not intentional. I just write (It's not that dark...), then re-read for trigger warnings (FUCK. WHY ARE YOU LONGER.) and then have the thought... 'Is it too dark...?'
> 
> But anyway, Jason's chapter is here and he has a one-on-one meeting with our very own captain. I like to think Akashi takes immense joy in stepping on dumbasses and watch the hope fade from their eyes (Cuz SAME.). 
> 
> And we found Momoi, guys!
> 
> She was getting rid of the people in white who were sent to keep an eye on Jason and Nash. That's why Kuroko 'erased' her and why Nijimura couldn't find her in the last chapter. We are almost done here, folks!


	32. A Tour - Momoi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Momoi dances one last time through the halls. One last dance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> READ FIRST - I need to stress that you guys read the Trigger Warning, at least for this chapter. IT IS NOT PRETTY. I warned you.
> 
> Trigger Warning: Descriptions of Graphic Violence, Implied and Referenced Death, Implied and Referenced Torture, Mass Numbers of Bodies, Mutilation of Organs and Body Parts, Implied and Referenced Human Experimentation, Copious Amounts of Blood, References of Drug Trials and Drugs, Syringes, Psychological Manipulation, Mind Games, Mental Issues, Objectification of Human Bodies, Mentioned Diseases, Improper Use of Human Remains, Drowning, Sadistic Behavior, Possessive Behavior.

There are _crates_ of it. Momoi finds. So much that all of seven of them can drown in a swimming pool and have some left over to fill the next pool. It speaks to their fear of **_their_** XXXs developing some kind of tolerance to it — for it was too a drug. And true to expectations, they did. Hence, the experimental development of C12 to C14.

In a true play of fate, they had to name their own creation, _C15_ , no?

With a moment of weakness, Momoi finds herself glaring at the crates, wishing to knock them over to watch them spill and be wasted. But she does not succumb.

She has her orders. _Leave them for Mukkun to destroy himself._

Noting the supply, she calls the subordinates to move them to the undisclosed locations before dialing for Akashi-kun. He picks up at the first ring.

“No. BGMFS1 — XXX.”

“Hello, No. GBPG4 — XXX.” She greets. “It is done.”

“Very good. The decorations?”

“In place.”

“The subjects?”

“Stasis. 10 mg of C15 per hour intravenously and 3800 L of C11 has been administered topically.”

“Time?”

“36 hours.”

“Visual confirmation of suspension?”

“Confirmed by No. GBP15 — XXX.”

“Then I see no reason to delay. _Lock it up.”_

Momoi hangs up, acknowledging. She looks up to take a last tour of the grounds.

The walls of the hallways are forever stained with blood, splattered like a horrifying murder scene. Forgotten corpses and still forms, fresh and decomposed, littered the halls, grotesquely displayed like display dolls. It is like a macabre dance, the way she must twist and turn to avoid the bodies, inches from the crying eyes of one and centimeters from the rotting cheek of another.

Eventually, she twirls to a stop. To the rooms.

Each room is decorated differently. Unique to their prisoner.

Akashi-kun’s is no longer white. She does not know how he has dyed the walls so red.

She streaks a finger over the red, still damp to the touch. It colors her flesh and the wall remains as pristine as before she disturbed it. She rubs it in between fingers.

It is blood, congealed and thick. It doesn't come off as iron tinges her floral perfume.

The plate that states his number and room is pristine. Outside of the surgical scissors that stab through it.

The door is ajar. _~~All of them are now.~~_

Hundreds of multicolored eyes stare as she enters, suspended from the ceiling as they forever gaze at the crimson floor — lifelessly subservient and never to see ever again. And at the very top, holding the optical nerves of every fragile organ is a single pair of Metzenbaum scissors.

She recognizes the initials of the metal. _~~A.M.~~_

_So, Akashi-kun had saved the first pair he had ever received from his father._

Mukkun’s drips of red as she trails the color into his. Oozing from the walls like thick slime over the white, she is reminded of a particular cocktail of Murasakibara's creation, having been commissioned by Akashi-kun and Tetsu-kun, of an artificial venom from an exotic caterpillar that forced blood vessels to burst in the body, along with any organs within. Thus, the perfect blast of gory body parts when enough pressure was applied.

_~~They are like life-sized blood bags, Sat-chin. Squishy and so fragile to the touch.~~ _

She stares at the dripping skeletons at the base of the walls, skin purple and saggy like deflated balloons and does not doubt that the venom was made with severe increases in toxicity. The original venom took at least 24 hours to kill. _~~Too long, Kuro-chin.~~_

Within the dripping room is thousands of packets of white powder. Labeled with childish scribble that is Mukkun.

Some she knows. _Destruction of nerve cells. Permanent paralysis. Fits of mania. Capgras syndrome._

Some she doesn’t. _LIS. NF. Clostridium perfringens. Asbestos._

~~_She doesn’t know most of them._ ~~

Dai-chan’s is a mess. But an organized mess, she reiterates, as she walks in. Crushing several pounds of flesh underfoot.

Splatters of brain matter here. A bruised remains of a spleen there. Desperate rakes of fingernails claw at his door. Mangled limbs stepped on and ignored. Like the trash they deserve to be considered.

But there is no torture, she notes. Only the swift hand of removal at the face of futile resistance. ~~_Efficient._~~

Whole bodies and leftovers litter the ground, dry and fresh, pooling and stained. Bone is proven to be as white as the picture books say as every one of them is displayed with varying stages of decay. _All two-hundred-and-six._

~~There are too many bodies to count and too much to know where one begins and one ends.~~

She doesn’t find that she particularly cares. Not when she sees one stuffed with jagged pieces of glass.

It looks three years old. ~~She pats the skull fondly as she leaves.~~ Such fond memories, indeed.

Midorin is more creative.

Past lucky items, broken, mirror their killer. One man _(?) ~~there is not enough to determine sex~~_ is a perfect scream, outside of being sliced smoothly in half. His _(?)_ other half is missing, like the other half of the Kerosuke. Another one is broken into fragments, splintered. One is crushed like an aluminum can. Another is literally torn apart, vertebrae dangling morbidly out of his torso. They are nailed to the walls, floor and ceiling like a museum, blood pooled in a large body at her heels.

The same scalpels that carved the date into each corpse serve as the nails. _All pre-mortem._

Because Midorin is more careful and precise in his sculpting than such jagged curves. ~~_So, his canvas had to have been moving._~~

She glances at the puddles. _And bleeding._

Her heels click to the next room as the red morphs into wide curves and sharp daggers.

There is every variation of the universal expression of joy. Ironically, Ki-chan’s smiles, of his own creation or on his own lips, held _none_. Nothing shows it better than the contents of his room.

Dirty syringes, full of varying shades of blood, dangle from the ceiling like glass lanterns as corpses pose in a mockery of old memories, sewing needles holding the muscles in place. One has no tongue as he bends down to lie. Another has torn ears from listening too much. Another has no eyes for seeing too much.

But most of them have no face. ~~Because it reminds Ki-chan too much of a human.~~

Not to worry, as the facial masks are stitched into one wall, like skin-toned drapery. Some are too mangled to be believed to be a face.

She doesn’t mind. ~~Because they are all smiling.~~ She grins back.

The last room is saved for Tetsu-kun. ~~The one she could never enter.~~

It’s her first time ever in the room.

It is bare. It is pristine, white and untouched. Not a drop of blood to be seen.

She pauses. Looking around as if to reassure herself that she had not gone into the wrong room. ~~_She didn’t._~~

She surveys it, mindful of the crimson footsteps that she leaves behind. There is nothing out of place. The bed was made. The walls clean. And the window untouched. She frowns. And that's when she sees it. 

A small white urn at the bed, resting on the pillow. _How did she miss it?_

She picks it up, contents empty. The initials on the lid catch her eye. _K.T._

_Kuroko Tetsumi._

Her Tetsu-kun's mother.

She tilts her head back, amused. Only to notice that the ceiling was lighter than the walls. It was hard to notice at first. But the walls were a shade darker than the pure silver of the ceiling. Her magenta eyes flicker to the urn.

The _whole_ room was sprinkled with his dead mother's ashes.

She could just imagine it. Her Tetsu-kun on his bed, surrounded by his mother's remains, staring up into the ceiling. Just she did. Imagining how he would decorate his room.

Only she didn't have to imagine.

Instead, all she has to do is stare in wonder, bloody heels staining the white bed sheets like her pink hair spills on the pillow. As No. GBPG4 — XXX, File 011 and No. GBC8 — XXX, File 013 struggled in their 4000 L prison, shouting soundlessly and fists pounding uselessly against the window-replaced ceiling. Chained and intravenously hooked up to C15 and nutrients, they could never die in the C11-filled room. Unless they drowned voluntarily.

 _I asked for the last room, Momoi-san._ Kuroko tapped to her, three years ago through the wall. _Please do not worry._

She didn't.

A hysterical laugh grapples her, shaking her frame as it echoes in the once-white lab. Gold and silver eyes glow at her desperate and crying. She laughs harder.

~~_It's just so funny._ ~~

She does not stop even after she exits into the first-string gym, locking it up.

As expected of her Tetsu-kun to have hidden such a surprise as she recalls the other pair of eyes with the two foreign XXXs.

* * *

Akashi turns to his company, who reflects his amusement right back at him, unmoving. Kuroko is looking at his hands, as still as the day he first stained them. Unfazed and untouched.

“He is leaving me, Akashi-kun.” _Kagami-kun said he was going to America. That he was going back._

“Indeed, Tetsuya.” The captain takes those hands into his, Emperor Eye thrumming with mirth. “What will you do, my phantom?”

“He is mine.” _Kagami-kun is his light._

“But?” Akashi prompts gently.

“You are mine.” _Akashi-kun is his._

“I am.” _And so are the others._

“He is mine.” _But Kagami-kun is leaving._

“So greedy.”

A pinch. _Hm, he has overstepped a bit._

_“He is mine.”_

“Then what will you do, Tetsuya, with what is _yours?”_

Kuroko recalls that Teikou had observed Kagami-kun. Wanted to bring him in. Because he was like Aomine-kun. Had Zone and abilities that would have been possible if the Je drugs had been compatible with any of them. _~~The Kiseki that was not a Kiseki.~~_

“He is my light, Akashi-kun.”

_And I have never allowed a light to escape my hands._

Kuroko recalls Ogiwara-kun. Who is in his room. In Teikou. Where he floats with Gold and Silver. Eyes as dull as that day. Ironically, it is Ogiwara-kun, who was _too_ bright.

~~_Daring to say that his five lights were wrong, too dark and cold to exist._ ~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I told you, they're messed up. (｡◝‿◜｡)
> 
> Lots of hidden stuff in here, so I'll go in order.
> 
> Akashi's room: The room is stained red permanently. Like he has spilled so much blood that you can't scrub it off even if you tried even with chemicals, since it has been altered to stay like that. They are the blood of the people who lost their eyes in the same room.
> 
> Murasakibara's room: The white packet labels allude to the following - destruction of nerve cells (cells that are important for your brain), permanent paralysis, fits of mania (mental disorder of irrational joy), capgras syndrome (mental disorder that you are surrounded by replacements of the people you love), LIS (locked-in syndrome, when you are literally locked in your own body), NF (flesh eating bacteria), Clostridium perfringens (bacteria that causes you to rot from inside out), and asbestos (known cancer causing agent).
> 
> Aomine's room: Self-explanatory. A bunch of mangled bodies in high piles, broken and frayed in every which way.
> 
> Midorima's room: Think of a bloody museum, with broken lucky items and the remains of their destroyers. It was all done before death.
> 
> Kise's room: Covered in bloody replicas of every type of smile on the walls as the face-covered drapes hang over the human models, faceless.
> 
> Kuroko's room: Looks completely the same as it was when he was in there. Covered in a thin layer of his mother's ashes and the ceiling is replaced by a window to reveal a hidden room that is 4000 L in volume. That holds Gold, Silver, and Ogiwara.
> 
> So, Kuroko's room was the hardest one to 'decorate', cuz I had to find the average size of a room, convert to volume, then find the volume of three humans to fit, and go from there. (RIP my search history.)
> 
> I hope you guys like this chapter! It legit took me forever to write. (*´︶｀*)


	33. Salvation - Kagami

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where senpai know better, and Kagami doesn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Implied and Referenced Death, Psychological Manipulation, Mind Games, Mental Issues, Sadistic Behavior, Possessive Behavior, Sociopathic and Psychopathic Thoughts.

It is Katsumatsu who notices first.

How they do not hear of Team Jabberwock shortly after they are beaten by Team Vorpal Swords. How Nash Gold Jr. and Jason Silver seemed to have disappeared. And that was the end of it. No authority seemed to notice anything out of place. ~~_They probably returned to the States._~~

The former captain of Kaijo cannot seem to let himself believe it. ~~No way.~~

_“Senpai.”_

Usually, Kise makes his skin prick. He doesn’t hit him anymore. Not after what happened. Instead, he sends light slaps and harmless flicks. And it’s like nothing changed. ~~He is lying.~~

~~Everything has changed. But no one says anything.~~

But now, Kise is making him break out in cold sweat. He doesn’t know if it's out of fear _for_ him or Kise. He doesn’t want to know, he thinks as he gulps into the phone.

Kise’s voice is low. Cold and lifeless. ~~Merciless.~~

“I really liked you, _sen~pai_.”

~~_But just because I like you, it doesn't mean I will let you do as you please._ ~~

Katsumatsu hears the past tense, as if he was already dead.

He is also the first to stop looking.

~~He continues to _breathe_ because he stops.~~

Imayoshi sees that Momoi has completely scrubbed the files of any mention of Gold and Silver — as if the precious metals had never existed.

He has no evidence. ~~No one does.~~

Aomine doesn’t mention it.

And that should be the end of it. ~~It's not.~~

The one time Wakamatsu tries, it is cut off before it can be born by yours truly.

So, the next time Momoi hands him the files, he silences Wakamatsu’s lips from saying anything and thanks the dangerous manager before she can command her dog to kill them all.

~~Saving all of their sorry lives.~~

Rakuzan stares at their captain. Consider their survival momentarily. Then promptly continue with their training menu.

~~_They knew better._ ~~

Okamura remembers the look of Murasakibara’s rare excitement against Silver. He thanked his kouhai after the game, teasing that his lessons with him and Fukui were actually useful, all well and dandy until he saw _that_ look. The very same that Murasakibara had the day that everything went to shit.

He is not the only one who notices.

He sees Tatsuya does. Neither of them do anything about it. _~~What can they do?~~_

Days pass. And no one hears of Gold and Silver. He ignores that his kouhai and his middle school friends were not seen after the game and before their farewell game for Kagami. ~~Everyone does.~~

Tatsuya shakes his head at him.

It is not mentioned. _~~Ever.~~_

Miyaji stares into the back of his little brother’s head. Questions dancing at the edge of his lips as his irritation grows, biting his tongue to stop himself from making Yuya go get him a pineapple. At the very center of this problem was his most talented underclassman.

The former captain is many things. _And blind is not one of them._

Takao meets his eye.

The point guard is strangely stiff and pale beside his partner. 

Takao asked Midorima something. He received an answer. An answer that rattled him enough to give his _partner_ berth.

Miyaji knows better than to ask. ~~_He's not blind._~~

“Hey, Kuroko.”

“Yes, Kagami-kun?”

“Do you think we will play against them again?”

“Against who, Kagami-kun?”

“Team Jabberwock.”

_No one notices that Ogiwara-kun is gone._

_Because unlike three years ago, there is no Mochida-kun to notice it._

_Just like how he told Kuroko that Ogiwara-kun saw how his lights are not like him. How he isn't a monster like them. That Kuroko is a human. That had warmth in his eyes._

~~_He was mistaken._ ~~

~~_But Ogiwara-kun is the one who taught him basketball._ ~~

_He is also the one who tried to take the shadow from his lights._

_He ruined his lights. Made them realize just how monstrous they were. How human Kuroko was in comparison. He, a phantom, who was never human to begin with._

_~~hOW DAre theY. hOw daRE ScUm LiKE tHem tRY to TAke hIM fRom hIS LiGHts.~~ _

~~**_DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE._** ~~

Kagami blinks at the small smile on Kuroko’s face. “Perhaps one day, Kagami-kun.”

_“Y-Yeah…”_

* * *

Kagami wiped aside his ~~very manly~~ tears, as he turned away from his shadow, who bid him a grateful farewell — _Thank you, Kagami-kun. You are my light. And I am your shadow. Always._ — his luggage a heavy burden behind him.

Who knew that a year ago, he had been coming here, severely underestimating the competition in Japan, because he had played in America. Kagami marveled how it was only just a year ago, and all of the events in between.

Through Kuroko, he played against the hardest opponents he had ever played against — _assholes_ all of them, but the best, without a doubt.

“Your ticket and passport, sir?”

“Oh! Sorry.” Kagami said, holding out the papers.

“Flight _466_ …” The lady frowned. “I’m sorry, that flight has no more seats.”

_“What?”_

“I could have _sworn_ there were four more seats open…” She muttered before looking away from the screen and bowing. “My apologies for the complications, sir. I will see if there are anymore flights today for America. Please give me a moment.”

Kagami stands there for more than a few minutes.

So, instead of leaving right away, Kagami had to wait another thirty minutes for the next flight to America, even after the same receptionist informs him that a single seat had opened up on his original flight. But figuring it was too much of a hassle to go back and forth, he declined and settled for his new accommodations instead.

Boarding as he watched his former flight take-off, he muttered that Oha-Asa might have cursed him before blanching in horror of saying something remotely similar to Midorima.

Little to his knowledge, Kuroko watched the same flight take to the skies, surrounded by his other lights — a small button in hand.

_466._

A finger twitches. _What a fitting number._

_Goodbye, Kagami-kun._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, Kagami... you have no idea the darkness that hides in your precious shadow... absolutely no idea...ヾ(@゜∇゜@)ノ
> 
> Senpai are smarter than they appear. And our beloved (crazy) kouhai know it. ( ᐛ )و  
> A peek into Kuroko's thoughts. I imagined him thinking all of this on a normal day with Kagami, face as expressive as ever.
> 
> Last chapter is going to be up tomorrow! Please stay safe! ( ﾟ▽ﾟ)/


	34. Mine - Akashi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagami finally learns, and the Kiseki no Sedai do as they know best.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Implied and Referenced Death, Mass Murder, Psychological Manipulation, Mind Games, Mental Issues, Sadistic Behavior, Possessive Behavior, Sociopathic and Psychopathic Thoughts.

_**BREAKING NEWS: FLIGHT 466, 135 DEAD… of the dead… Team Jabberwock… star players… Nash Gold Jr. and Jason… freak accident… no survivors… engine problems… List of confirmed dead… Ogiwara Shigehiro… only identifiable by DNA…terrorism is possible...no autopsies... nothing left to...**_

Kagami Taiga stared, unhearing of the thud of his luggage, eyes transfixed on the television. Stood in the middle of the airport, he ignored some concerned looks of passerby, but too deterred by the look utter shock in his expression, concluding that the young man must have lost someone in the tragedy.

~~They couldn’t have been _more_ wrong.~~

He knew for a fact that Team Jabberwock was _not_ on his canceled flight.

~~_("They went back to America, Kagami-kun.")_ ~~

And Kuroko would have told him if his childhood friend had been the same flight. ~~Would have, wouldn’t he?~~

Kagami found himself ill.

Swallowing back his bile, he hastily picked up his bag and quickly looked for a random seat, only taking his eyes off the TV for the shortest amount of time, as if he looked away, the plane crash would disappear and he would find out he was hallucinating. But there was no fucking way. He ate the same sorry-excuse for food in that shitty plane like the other passengers and none of them were going mad.

~~_And also, the television didn't fucking change._ ~~

Dropping his shit _somewhere_ , he doesn’t really care. He just _needs_ to fucking sit.

Because _fuck_ , what the ever-loving- _fuck_ was _anything_ anymore?

Pulling out his phone with shaking fingers, he dialed a number he knew by heart. 

“Kagami-kun?”

Kagami swallowed, suddenly unable to say anything. Like the words were in his throat, lodged and stuck.

Luckily, his shadow knows him well.

 _“Ah_. Kagami-kun has seen the news.” Kuroko says for him, monotone. Like when he told him that they were going to be the _best_ in Japan. _Where has that Kuroko gone?_ ~~Did he even exist?~~ “It was fortunate. That Kagami-kun was not on that plane.”

How. _How did_ … How the _fuck_ did Kuroko know that he wasn’t on that plane?

He didn't even know until several hours ago.

He only manages to get out the first word. _“H-How…?”_

“The last three seats were taken, Kagami-kun. Three people I knew have died. And it is also Kagami-kun's plane. Is Kagami-kun suggesting that such a thing is a coincidence?”

The world spins under the power forward even though he is sitting, feeling burning bile in his throat and his skin clammy with cold sweat. He could picture the blank look on Kuroko's face, cornflower eyes mildly disappointed.

 _Kuroko_ … his shadow… the same one that said goodbye to him with a _smile_... _he_ … killed ~~three~~ _one-hundred and thirty-five fucking people_ and was going to let him die with them...

“I gave Kagami-kun many hints.” Kuroko states, thinking aloud.

He sounds the same. ~~Kagami stares at the charred bodies on the pixelated screen.~~

Like he was the same person who cried when Aomine beat them. ~~Families cried into the microphones, crying to heavens.~~

The same person that told him adamantly that he cooked the best boiled egg. ~~None of them are even recognizable. _One hundred and thirty-five, the number on the headline glares._~~

The same person who stared back innocently with a vanilla milkshake. ~~"There is _nothing_ left... I can't even _bury_ my son."~~

Was this even the same person? ~~_How was this the same person?_~~

“Kagami-kun must have realized instinctively, that he was in danger.” Kuroko concludes in the one-sided conversation. He states it like he is _pleased_. That Kagami had the instinct to _understand_ his madness.

_No, he doesn’t. No, he ~~fucking~~ does not._

_“Why.”_ Kagami manages, his anger sobering him quickly. _“Why?”_

“Foreign XXXs, No. GBPG4 — XXX and No. GBC8 — XXX were human, Kagami-kun. Like the people in white.” Kagami stares at the TV, ignoring the reporter in front of the image of fire and plane remains.

He doesn't hear what the hell she is saying. Instead, he hears Kuroko say that Team Jabberwock was the same as the Kiseki no Sedai. He feels pity for his former opponents. Until he hears that they were the same as the people in white. ~~He didn't know _that_ part.~~

_“They—“_

_~~It was bad to speak ill of the dead.~~ _

“Were subjects under the American government. Who called themselves human.” Kuroko finishes for him, unable to deny the light the facts he did not want to acknowledge aloud.

~~The phantom knew he saw the numbers on them.~~

“And you _just_ —“

“They were _human_ , Kagami-kun.” _Not like me and you._

Kuroko says it, matter-of-factly. ~~Like he is a monster like him. Like the seven of them.~~

The words of Nijimura haunt him, from the day everything went to utter shit. His shadow's last birthday.

_~~Yet, if you as much as looked at one of them wrong, they would rip you three new ones each. Kuroko included.~~ _

Kagami felt himself huff the small beginnings of a hysterical laugh. Even the _number_ was accurate.

He wipes a hand. He’s _crying_. When the fuck did that happen. He finds he doesn't care.

“Then why _me,_ Kuroko? Why Ogiwara? I thought… _~~he was your fucking friend."~~_

Kagami did not know _what_ to think anymore.

“Ogiwara-kun… he is the one who played basketball with me.” _~~Then why the fuck did you kill him?!~~_ “He tried to take me from my friends. He thought I was _different_. He said that I was still _warm_ … Like a _human_.”

His words were soft and unchanged like when he informed Kagami of their next game, mundane. Cold and indifferent as the delivered the words that nailed the coffin in the first light in his darkness. With the dismissal, Kuroko moves on.

To him.

“Kagami-kun was leaving me.”

It clicks.

~~Like every human has to him.~~

~~No monster left their kind. And he was no human. Not to Kuroko.~~

_Kuroko… He… was so fucked up._ Kagami despaired. _His friend… his shadow, he was not broken nor was he scared or even a victim. Instead, he was so ~~irreparably scarred and~~ fucked up. ~~And he doesn't think his shadow can be fixed.~~_

“I told you I was leaving.” ~~_I am human._~~

_“You are my light.”_

There is an inflection in Kuroko’s voice. Like an obsessive growl of a madman, who was so deep in his mania that he no longer remembers himself without it — so, he clings onto the little that holds him, of what remains leftover.

There is only _one_ way to speak to madness. ~~Be a part of the _madness_.~~

 _“I am your light. And you are my shadow.”_ Kagami whispers back, chaining himself forever, as he feels the burden of every word. Every word that leaves his lips is tied upon his ankles, binding and unbreakable. ~~_Like a shadow._~~

There is a soft inhale.

_“Kagami-kun is mine.” ~~And no one else’s.~~_

Swallowing away his freedom, he declares himself to the shadow he left behind, an ocean away.

~~Because he knows better than to dream of an alternative.~~

* * *

In an empty gym, Tetsuya hangs up, a basketball in the other hand.

Ryota lounges on the bench beside him, stretching for the game as Daiki and Momoi shuffle in, the former yawning and the latter with supplies in hand. Atsushi greets them with a hum, munching on some pastries, the label in red. Shintarou enters with his lucky item in hand, a bouquet of white chrysanthemums. _Fitting_. He is the last, entering after finishing a call of his own.

“All done, Aka-chin?”

“Yes, Atsushi. It is now official.”

Ryota makes a curious hum. “Kurokocchi and Akashicchi are free. Just like that.”

 _“Humans.”_ Daiki scoffs while Momoi giggles behind a hand.

Tetsuya chooses this moment to make his own announcement. “Kagami-kun is alive.”

 _“What the fuck?”_ The ace stops, mid-stretch to stare at his shadow like the rest of them. _Well_. This was surprising, even for Tetsuya. “Wasn’t he on that plane?!”

_“Kagami-kun is mine.”_

All of them freeze. It was _that_ smile. The same one that Tetsuya smiled when he individually declared each of them his, and his _alone_.

_So, Kagami Taiga managed to live. How interesting._

Fortunately, that is enough explanation as Momoi remarks that the night is waning.

_Ah, yes. They did not have all night, after all._

The game begins as they divide into teams of three. Momoi with the ball for the tip-off. The familiar squeak of their shoes on the wooden floors. The swish of the net, pristine and replaced often. The walls that were soundproof. The echo of the dribbling ball.

Above the prison. Above the white. Above the bodies.

They played basketball.

~~Because no one ever leaves Teikou.~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All done! ( •̀ᄇ• ́)ﻭ✧
> 
> The number 466 was chosen because if GOM was typed on a telephone keypad, the numbers would be 466. And 135 victims was from adding all of GOM's jersey numbers, which is 45, and multiplying by three (Nash, Silver, and Ogiwara) to be 135. (These are the hints that Kuroko referred to.)
> 
> Thank you to everyone who commented, left kudos, and read the story to its entirety! I hope you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. ✧٩(•́⌄•́๑)
> 
> I will post up a 'Part 2' that is basically extras to the main story. You don't necessarily need to read it to understand the main points of the story, but if you are a stickler for details, most of (if not, all) it is basically stated outright there. Like the full files of the report of each of the boys, the details of the treatments, kill counts, and terminology that was exclusive to the System.
> 
> If not, thank you for reading this far and I hope you enjoyed it! ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و


End file.
